Therapy in the Rolling Stone

Like Ben Folds, I've been thinking a lot today. About the army, a band, my job, my mom and what I'm planning to do with myself after college. So have my roommates, my friends and the people sitting next to me in class. Yet for college students and other twentysomethings, being stressed out by their reflections is certainly not a habit most people attribute to the "best years of your lives."\nUnfortunately, it's one we all are slaves to, as even our pop laments these struggles in our young days. It's what John Mayer refers to as the "quarterlife crisis."\nFor years, money and therapy sessions have been lavished on the mid-life crisis. Yet, only recently is a community being born that recognizes what Alexandra Robbins and Abby Wilner define as, "the single most concentrated period during which individuals relentlessly question their futures."\nRobbins and Wilner are the authors of perhaps one of the first books confronting the issue, appropriately titled, "Quarterlife Crisis -- The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties."\nThough I've never been a fan of self-help literature, these two women offer a convincing argument. Why should we care about the wailing of those with the world at their fingertips?\nWell, that is precisely the point. Twentysomethings have everything nearly in their hands, and for the first time in their lives, they're discovering that there are no linear equations for how to firmly grab ahold of what they want.\nThe job market is no longer one where you graduate and work in the vicinity of your major. Marriage and relationships are undergoing drastic evolutions where the assurance and fairy tale romances we've grown with in the movies are under fire of constant skepticism. This is a world of sarcasm and realism -- a difficult place to foster dreams.\nHow are we to look ahead? When is it time to give up the party and think about a family? \nIs there ever a time? \nThere are decisions to be made. We know we have time left to make them, but they still loom over our heads as we fear the inevitability of confrontation.\nWe are adults, but we know we don't have to be.\nYet, the question of "who are we?" seems cliché and beneath us, so we pass it over in the hopes of not appearing too metaphysically bogged down to enjoy the next beer. But these issues are slowly becoming less taboo and thankfully more trendy. You might not find Robbins and Wilner's book sitting next to a grande mocha laté at Starbucks just yet, but their ideas are beginning to be discussed around the cup.\nThis isn't to say that our generation is destined to adopt neurosis and night terrors concerning our days to come. The "best years of our lives" will certainly remain that way, as living them with vigor and zest seem to be one of the best cures for battling the quarterlife crisis. \nI've been thinking a lot today. I'm glad to say it's not a bad thing.