Decoding the Quarter Life

Disclaimer: if it doesn't make sense. I don't apologize. I will just tell you that I didn't allow myself to re-read or delete my thoughts. So judge/edit at your own discretion.
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My best friend sent me a loving  text full of wisdom after we shared one of our many conversations about the QLC. The take-away was that "THESE are our defining moments"

And they are. Every tear I want to cry now, but hold back. Every shout that I muffle. Every plan to run away, but I curb. Are all tell-tale signs that I am becoming an adult. That the sidewalk is ending.



I have considered myself an adult for a long time. Since my first rent, cable, utility, car insurance bill. Aren't they all the things that adults are made of? Even since I filled out my first W-2 for my first salaried job and decided on the best healthcare plan for me I felt like an adult.

But for some reason adulthood has now hit home. Maybe it is the shear NON-desire to not want to view my mother's house as a fall-back plan. Or the strong distaste that I have for working on the weekends. Or my stronger desire to start what I really see as the adulthood threshold - a family.

All of the above may be true, but I know I became an adult when I learned (-ing) to manage my stress i.e my emotional reactions. That doesn't mean I don't react, it means the frequency, duration, and strength have decreased. I truly began my journey to adulthood long after I paid the first bills in my name. I began the journey when I walked (crawled) away from something (someone) I loved.

I became an adult when I decided that I loved and knew me a little better than I knew and loved anyone else. I began this journey when I became sure about my decisions. And it is only when I begin to question my decisions that I begin to question whether I am an adult. THAT is the Quarter-Life Crisis!