The Mission

"If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it." - John Irving

If you search "Quarter Life Crisis" on Amazon, you'll find a long list of Self-Help books that are really depressing. Like, “This period can indeed be rocky, especially when a young person is told that the world is her oyster and then can't find a satisfying job.” (Publishers Weekly review of Quarter Life Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties)

Well, ok, that description fits me pretty well. For my entire life I was told that I was so talented, so smart, that I could do anything I wanted – all I would have to do is choose. And I bought that idea hook, line and sinker. But even after three post-college years of being battered around in bad jobs, and trying to find that magical occupation that I will love enough to put up with all the crap that goes along with it – I still believe I can do anything.

Ok, let’s back up. There is every possibility that I am crazy. I have a highly active imagination – you should know this. In fact, in first grade I had the school counselor telling my parents that I was delusional and should be put on medication—but then again, that woman was fired for telling every parent of a child with an imaginary friend the same thing. Ironically, she was the nutty one. But, that still doesn’t rule me out. I mean, I wanted to be an actress for about nine years from middle school through half of college. And then I went for the marginally more realistic English Major (would you like fries with that?). I’m not a sensible person, so it’s just like me to stubbornly insist that I am talented and smart enough to make a success of my life.

Crazy me.

In the 20 Something Manifesto, Christine Hassler says one of the biggest problems twenty-somethings face is “Expectation Hangovers,” when “reality doesn’t measure up to what people in their twenties had come to expect from their lives, leading to depression and lack of direction.” She says the three questions that dominate the decade are: Who am I? What do I want? How do I get what I want?
Ok, that fits me pretty well too …

This is the chronicle of my twenty-fifth year. My goal is a simple one: To Create My Own Life.

You know that bumper sticker that says “I reject your reality and substitute my own”? That is my motto.