The Quarter-Life Crisis Is A Fight For Freedom

We live in a world so full of society’s expectations that we are terrified to be ourselves. Twenty-somethings are basically panicking, trying to figure out whether they want to pursue their career or settle down and start a family…and their decision is becoming less about what they really want and more about what everyone else is willing to accept.

We become so scared of disappointing the ones we love that we hide our true selves. We bury our dreams and our passions and focus more on having a job and making more money. And when we finally make enough money to “buy” our freedom, it will be too late.

I’ve seen a lot of souls who are afraid to free themselves because of what others might think or say. Well, guess what, beautiful souls? They are going to think and say things about you no matter what you do. They are always going to say you are too much or too little of something even when you feel just right. When you experience so much success and happiness, others will just try to do things to ruin that…but only if you allow them to.

During our teenage years, we fought for our identities. We figured out who we are and who we wanted to be. We were misunderstood, but somehow we pushed through. Now, in our twenty-something years, we fight for our freedom to freely express the identities that we found, especially if they don’t coincide with what society has planned for us. These are the years when they try to keep us in a box even when we know deep within our souls that we have the ability to change the world for the better.

If you’re in the crisis right now, keep fighting. The fact that you’re having this crisis is that you know that there is so much more that what you are experiencing in your life right now. So, fight and do what you really want to do without having to think about others’ opinion about you, because at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. They won’t really care because they are going to be too busy looking at their own lives and wondering if they could fight like you.

Whatever it is you want to do, do it now before it’s too late. Travel to places you’ve never been to before on your days off from work. Eat that slice of cake without counting the calories. Wear that bikini as long as you feel good in it. Dive into a pit full of plastic balls. Ride that zipline. Have a joyride on a motorcycle with your arms around your lover. Get on that roller coaster and vomit afterwards if it made you sick, then get on it again. Climb a mountain and look for a waterfall. Enter a cave and count the stalactites. Go stargazing and take a picture of the Milky Way galaxy. Draw the portrait of a face that you don’t want to forget. Take millions of photographs. Jump off the cliff into the beautiful blue waters below. Kiss the love of your life under the rain in the middle of the street. Get married when you’re ready, or explore the world when you’re not. Work out for the body that you want. Run as fast as you can. Have as many babies as you want. Love whoever you want to love despite how you look, how old you are, how tall you are, or how much money you have. Hug and kiss your friends and your family, even if they don’t want you to. Tell them how much they mean to you as often as you can. Dye your hair bright pink. Sing along to songs in the car. Stop and look at a rainbow in the sky. Remove all your fear and replace it with love. Be yourself. Show the world who you really are.

It’s not going to be easy. You’re going to lose people. They will see you remove your mask and they won’t like that they see, so they’re going to leave.

Do you know what the most beautiful part is? There are those people who will see you at your weakest and your darkest days. They will see your most genuine self and all they will see is your light. They will stay and pull you back up on your feet and fight beside you. When you feel like giving up, these people will drag you forward. They will inspire you and keep you going…and through all the storms and hurricanes, you’re going to win your freedom.

How do you know when you’ve won? When you can wake up and face the world without caring what anyone thinks or says about you. At the end of the day, you will fall asleep knowing that you have spent your day loving and living your life to the fullest. You don’t need anyone to be proud of you or celebrate with you because you will be proud of yourself. You know that you are living your life as God has planned it, and it will be the highest level of freedom that you will ever experience.

If you are in the middle of the dark tunnel, you may not see it yet. Keep fighting, beautiful soul. Your freedom is waiting for you.