25 Is Weird.

Sometimes I have trail mix and sangria for dinner and sometimes I feel ready to have a baby. It's a complex situation. 

Next month marks the one year anniversary of me no longer being a student. So, technically, it marks the anniversary of me being an "adult". Hilarious. I thank graduate school for a lot of things, but preparing me for being anything other than an amazing student isn't one of them.

I'm not sure if I ever truly envisioned TWENTY-FIVE as a kid. But, if you were to ask 10 year old me how I'm coming along, she might say I'm about a puppy, three kids, a home movie theatre and a Personal Assistant away from a decent life. And, to be honest, as someone who has consistently worked with, studied with, and socialized with people older than myself, 25 year old me isn't quite sure if I'm ahead or behind schedule.

Never mind the fact that this is officially the last socially constructed milestone age [hit me up if you need a car rented] there is no clear-cut blueprint as to where we are "supposed" to be. Anywhere from drunken hook-ups to nuptial ceremonies is "age-appropriate" and landing a job with health insurance could be the single most exciting adult news we could receive. 

Student loans, my social life, and questionable grocery shopping skills not withstanding, there are days when I want to start a family of my own. The Manfriend and I have discussed what starting a troop of Mini-Us would mean and the conversation inevitably turns to financial stability. But when is THAT? Who is ever truly prepared to sustain another human's life? And If I want to be present for every one of my littles' touchdowns, pirouettes, graduations and weddings, shouldn't I be starting sometime this decade? 

Instead of perpetually teetering on the brink of Señor Panic Attack, I like to think that the answers will reveal themselves when I am genuinely ready to listen. 

...until then I will enjoy the freedoms that come along with sticking your fingers in your ears and shouting "LA LA LA" at an ungodly pitch. Because 25 is weird and who am I to disrupt the order of things. 

~carter