They call it the "Quarter-life Crisis." It is when you stop going along with
the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that
you didn't know and may not like.

You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two,
but then get scared because you barely know where you are now. You start
realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you
thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have
ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most
important ones.

What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't
really cold, catty, mean or insincere but that they are as connfused as you.

You look at your job... and it is not even close to what you thought you
would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you
are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.

Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find
yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have
certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your
list of what is acceptable and what isn't.

One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure. You laugh and cry
with the greatest force of your life.

You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and
you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the
past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but
stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such
damage to you. Or you lay in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent
enough that you want to get to know better.

Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot
figure out why you are doing this because you know that you aren't a bad
person.

One-night-stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. Getting wasted
and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic.

You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk
with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to
make a decision.

You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself...
and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd
just like to be a contender! What you may not realize is that everyone
reading this relates to it.

We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can
to figure this whole thing out.

Send this to your twenty-something friends... maybe it will help someone
feel like they aren't alone in their state of confusion...

"I bend but I do not break."