what is a quarterlife: the McGreevy challenge

Mar 11, 2008 - 14:03 PM PST

So, I was watching Joe's vlog and he challenged people to define quarterlife. Not the site, but the idea of what someone's quarterlife is. And I have decided that I am going to take up the challenge. I am going to try to define my quarterlife, or define how I see quarterlife.

I believe that quarterlife is a state of being. It's not an age by any means. It's a time period. It's when a person is trying to define themselves as an individual for the first time. I'm trying to figure out who I am. I already knew that I was a daughter, a sister, the "baby" of the family, the girl who gets good grades in school, the one that people open up to, the one who talks to strangers even though we're always taught not to. But now I'm learning that I'm also that one that needs to express myself. The one that has been held back for far to long as the baby, as the little sister. I'm the one who is sick of being told that "I know just what you're thinking" or feeling or anything like that when you obviously don't because I don't share everything with you. If you don't know about my ql site, then you obviously don't know everything about me. I'm the one that needs an outlet to get all of my thoughts and feelings out. I'm the one who has been told that I am just like my mother and then that is used as both a compliment and as an insult.

I'm expected to be an adult, but treated as a child. My older brother couldn't hack it in the real world and moved back in 6 years ago and my sister still hasn't moved out so I'm expected to be the one to be successful, but then I'm told that I won't ever be successful. quarterlife is full of ups and downs, highs and lows, excitements and disappointments. We can't get to this point in our lives soon enough, but then we get here and it's like the brakes failed or the car stalled or something's just wrong. It's a time of confusion. It's a time of struggle. It's a time of absolute joy, absolute terror, absolute sorrow, and absolut vodka... ok I had to throw that in.

It's a time to put your heart into everything that you try even though it may break, and it probably will sometimes. But those times when it doesn't are the best times you will ever know. It's a time to surprise yourself. To try something new. To keep your head on your shoulders, but maybe not walk such a straight and narrow path. To choose your goals, and to take the time to actually achieve some of them. To think about your life, reflect, say "shit, did I really do that???" and move on. To have your heart broken a thousand times before you find the end-all, be-all for it, and even then, they may still keep on breaking your heart because you're not the end-all, be-all for them.


My quarterlife has been a slow process and it's been full of tricks and turns and a tilt-a-whirl, but I think maybe... just maybe... I just might be able to survive it and get to my midlife crisis...