I’m 27 and I feel like I JUST graduated College
When I graduate college in 2005 I had NO idea what I wanted to do with my life. So I choose to stay in college by working for a college. I started coaching intercollegiate athletics. This career path gave me the ability to essentially stay in college. I still had summer breaks, spring breaks, and winter breaks, all while having a full time job. I got to spend countless hours with college kids and pretty much did the same things I had done throughout my college athletic career.
I mean, I had some responsibilities….I couldn’t go to the same bars I had gone to while in college and I couldn’t hang out in dorm rooms, I actually had to be responsible for people, but essentially my life was exactly how it had been in college. Living the dream, right? I guess….
5 years later I decided that I no longer wanted to be a college coach, and I was struck with the same thing I had experience 5 years before when I graduated. What the hell do I want to do with my life?
You know that panic you had when you were a senior in college and you were trying to find a job and hopefully going from interview to interview? That was me 5 years later, but this time around all my previous job experiences really had NOTHING to do with what I wanted to do now. It was the feeling of “I just spent 4 years majoring in English and now I want to be a neurosurgeon” feeling.
It took some time, doing the same things that lots of college grads were doing at the same time. I had to compete against recent college grads who had more experience in the field that I wanted to go into than I did, even though I was older. It was difficult and at times damn right frustrating, but I pulled through.
It’s weird being 27 and experiencing some of the things that come with having a full time job for the first time.
Paid time off, what is that?
Sick Days? Really?
HEALTH INSURANCE? Wow, who knew.
It has been a long and hard 5 years with many ups and downs. Hundreds of panic attacks and depressed feelings later I have a job that I love and feel like I am right where I should be for now.
No more quarter-life crisis for me!
Okay well… maybe in a few months when my friends start to have child #2…
Follow Liz on Twitter: @eglomb
If you are interested in contributing to the Quarterlife Crisis series feel free to contact me.
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- The Quarterlife Crisis Series: The Other Quarter Life Crisis (Kelly Gurnett)
- The Quarterlife Crisis Series: Miss Procras
- The Quarterlife Crisis Series: P.Q.
- The Quarterlife Crisis Series: Matt Brotherton
- The Quarterlife Crisis Series: Quarter Life Crisis Averted: Setting Boundaries & Figuring Out Who You Are
