I bend but I do not break.

I am copy-pasting an email I received. That's me and tonnes of my 20-something friends' lives in a nutshell. Tell me if you relate to it. :)

Being Twenty-Something.


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 confused 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."