Those weird in-between years

To my elders,

I am at an age where people are trying to figure out what to do with their lives. Undergrad (or their early 20s for the non-university types) is over, those weird in-between years are ending, and now we're at an age where people are actually starting to do things with their lives.

People who knew what they wanted to do have finished their schooling and have started working. People who wanted to go to grad school are going. And the number of weddings I have to go to in the next year and a half... let's just say I need to buy a couple more nice dresses. 'Cuz I can't wear the same one to every wedding. I even know a couple people who have kids. Scary.

Then there are The Wanderers. The people who have no idea and can't stand the idea of settling, of doing something just to do something. They are the ones who are perpetually wishing and searching and hoping for inspiration. They are looking, or maybe just waiting, for serendipity to happen upon them. Don't get me wrong, it is a very romantic and lovely notion, and it does happen to some people, some times. Heck, in part it happened to me. But it happened to me when I wasn't actually looking for it. And in the traditional K way of doing things, it was kind of an arbitrary whim that ended up sticking. My best decisions usually work that way. But the point of serendipity is that it is an accident. By its very definition, you can't look for it.

These people are sometimes frustrating, but (almost) always sympathetic. You want them to find something that fits them. That makes them happy. That fulfills them and ends their strife. But in some ways, I think it is kind of similar to the "I'm going to do (fill in something important here), but I don't have time while I'm in school. I'll do it when I graduate." Which very quickly turns into "I'm going to do (fill in something important here), but I don't have time while I'm building up my career/ before I make any real money/ old enough. I'll do it later on." There are things that turn into habits and one thing doesn't lead to another, and it become part of who you are. Not that people can't and do break their habits, but reasons become excuses pretty fast, and then even if something did come along, a perfect job, a perfect career path, a perfect apartment or house or hobby or bf/gf, you still wouldn't go for it because of something. And the something is (almost) always a mediocre reason. And I hate to admit it, but this is the age. The mid 20s are the "start to get your shit together" years.

So I say, just do it. Just go for it. And you know what? It is anything. It is a new haircut. A drastic move. Applying for a programme or job you think is awesome and ridiculous. Starting something. Learning something. Doing something. Because otherwise, life really will just kinda pass you by. It doesn't care if you're onboard or hangin' out. Because life is not anthropomorphized. It doesn't have feelings. Or a brain. Or a corporeal body.

-K

p.s. There is a Library Voices song that they played when I saw them a few weeks back that had a chorus that went something along the lines of "All of my friends are buying diamonds for their girls and bringing people into this world and I'm just playing songs." And Not that I want them to, you know, stop playing songs, as we've established that this would actually and literally make me cry, but the sentiment is pretty relatable at this age. I will update the proper lyrics and the context of the song when the album actually comes out.