Quarter Life Crisis

As an oxygen-breathing, Pinterest-&-blog-frequenting, Target-shopping, early-career 25 year old of the Facebook generation, I'm keenly aware of quarter life crisising (I turned it in to a verb). How can we not want it all when everywhere we look, everyone else seems to have it all? Well, I can say I don't have it all and I'm CONSTANTLY battling my demons of wanting it all. Luckily, D is pretty good at calming me the heck down and reminding me OVER and OVER and OVER again to sloooooow down. I have plenty of time to have it all. And I need to remember to embrace THIS season of my life because I'll miss it someday. And this season is pretty great.

SO! I thought I'd do a quick round-up of articles I've pinned, favorited or 'liked' on bloglovin that have had an impact on me in a positive way about SOME aspect of my quarter life concerns. I included a couple I'm not currently struggling with but that I worry about (not quite a working mother yet, don't worry, I'd let you guys know)

coolmom by Lacey Graff for Leather & Lace ||| Moral: It's okay to want to have babies. You are not some anti-feminist monster because you aren't suppressing a normal, physiological desire to reproduce. AND... it's okay to talk about wanting to have babies.

Why Women Still Can't Have it All by Anne-Marie Slaughter for The Atlantic ||| Moral: The system is getting better but it's still not quite there yet for working mothers. So don't feel crazy if it feels like you can't be everywhere you need to be. YOU CAN'T. Also, this is a PAPER, not an article. Like a little mini-novel. And it's not written for quarter lifers but I found it comforting so maybe you'll relate to it, too.

21 Secrets for your 20's on All Groan Up ||| Moral: A pretty popular blog post of some really good advice on how to deal with envy and depression and all those cool, fun perks of being a young and beautiful.

I'm Renting... And I'm Okay With That by Julia Brenner for Apartment Therapy ||| Moral: Some life situations call for renting. Don't let your friends pity you because of it. Remind them of that time they had to fix their own plumbing or replace a water heater. Renting has it's perks.

Amy Poehler's Smart Girls Youtube Channel (one of my favorite Ask Amy videos here) ||| Moral: Ok, so, this is not meant for quarter lifers. This is meant for tweeners. But I like to watch these because Amy Poehler is the kind of woman I want to be someday and these videos help remind me to focus on being a good role model and stop being so self-centered. A GREAT message for quarter lifers.

15 Ways to Stay Married for 15 Years by Lydia Netzer for The Huffington Post ||| Moral: The early years of marriage are dang hard. Here are some of the lessons she learned about making it work (and they're not your typical 'make time for a date night' type advice points)

I Don't Know How She Does It starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Pierce Brosnan ||| Moral: Another reminder you're not crazy. This is a pretty terrible chick flick but I was completely engrossed because it made me feel less crazy! And I don't even have kids yet! My favorite line from this movie was when her friend is talking about gender equality and says "They could give you good jobs and maternity leave, but until they programmed a man to notice you were almost out of toilet paper the project was doomed. Women carry the puzzle of family life in their heads, they just do.”