I have begun the slow march to my quarter-century celebration.
In less than one month, I will officially be in my mid-20’s. Like, right on the dot. Bam – mid 20’s. At 24, one can argue early 20’s. They’re pushing it, but they can at least try. At 25, one has no excuses. I will be smack dab in the middle of 20 and 30.
I should probably do something amazing to finish out this first quarter. Even if I live to be one hundred years old, there’s no escaping the fact that I’m finishing up the first leg. If this were a marathon, I’d have to hand over the baton to the next runner.
I don’t have any big plans. Thanks to this Lollipop Tuesday madness, I’ve accomplished quite a few things that I would never have done before. I can’t tell you how many years I’ve wanted to go ice skating but have been to afraid to try.
At least I can check that one off.
Photo by "The Shopping Sherpa". Click the image to go to their Flickr PhotoStream
I ordered a drink the other night and one of my freshly graduated friends celebrated the fact that I carded. He was elated. He thought I would be too until he realized that celebrating my getting carded for me is kind of an insult. I had to explain to him that since I wasn’t exactly 60 years old, getting carded was still kind of something I expected. You know, being within 3 years of the legal drinking age and all.
When I greeted a visitor at work the other day, I was forced to make small talk until my boss was ready to take the meeting. Part of the small talk was the visitor asking me if I had kids.
What? Do I have kids? I don’t even know what to say to that. I had Frosted Flakes for dinner last night. No. I don’t have kids.
So since society is going to go ahead and move me along in age and expectation, I should probably do some big, awesome act of rebellion. Or celebration. Or something. I should accomplish something huge, or go do something fantastical. I’d go backpacking in Europe but I’m not likely to muster up that kind of dough without overnight blog fame or a hefty donation from a relative I have yet to meet. And I’d imagine my boss would need just a bit more heads-up on that one.
Maybe I could whip up a book real quick. Or hurry up and start my own small business with zero money. Or begin construction on my puppy amusement park. Maybe I could do a bunch of craft projects I’ve always wanted to try or maybe I could just withdraw all my money from my savings, kill a man, and drive to Mexico.
Maybe not that last bit.
But you get the idea. So here we go – I’m up for suggestions. What should I hurry up real quick and do to finish out my first quarter of life like a real champ? We should probably steer clear of things that are illegal or costly. Pretty much anything else is up for grabs. Hey, maybe that will be my fantastical act.
“When I turned 25, I put my fate in the hands of strangers”. ♣
The Jackie Blog 
Maybe you should try to do 25 of something..maybe 25 random acts of kindness..but make it something really fun. Congrats on your approaching quarter century club membership!
Chris
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Chris, it looks like this was a winner with everyone! I’ll certainly add it to my life of considerations – thank you so much for sharing 🙂
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Oh congratulations in advance for reaching quarter centuryness…. Does that mean that I’m supposed to start looking towards celebrating the half century that will happen in 8 years? Hmm – No I’m 21, always have been and always will be 😀
p.s. I was once asked if my at the time partner was my oldest son when holidaying in Florida…. he was only 3 years younger than me I was devastated.
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Oh man, E – that must have been horrifying! lol
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I believe silver is the accepted choice for a 25th, not murder. You young people nowadays…
“Bridges” idea is great, and I cringe with “egills”.
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really? I didn’t know that counted for birthdays too. I really thought murder was the precedent.
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Does this mean I can put MY fate in YOUR hands?
This time next year I’ll need to come to terms with the fact that I won’t be able to honestly refer to myself as “mid-20s.” I try to remind myself that at least I’m not turing 30 this year like most of my friends, but I don’t know if that makes me feel any better. I’m not THAT much younger than my friends.
Honestly, I’ve seriously been struggling with the thought that I’m a twenty-something who hasn’t really accomplished much. Or, it feels that way when you see your peers doing those big life changing things- getting married, having kids… I’ve spoken to a few people about this and I’ve learned something- being a twenty-something sucks hard. You just wander around aimlessly, trying to get a grasp on life while not having any sort of clue about anything.
I think I’ve decided to take the same approach that I did in high school- just get through it. Do what you gotta do and wait for better things- like your 50s. I hear that the 50s and 60s are super awesome because you don’t get strung out over crap like you did in your 20s. That’s what I heard anyway. Plus I’m really psyched about retirement, although I’m guessing that won’t happen until my 70s. Awesome.
Was my sad, pathetic cynisim helpful?
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Yeah, I’m trying to look at the mid-20s as the last period of my life that it’s kind of acceptable to not know what I’m doing. Maybe I can just stop freaking out about it and embrace it. And yes – except for the being old and fastforwarding through a ton of amazing experiences, 60 does sound lovely.
I love your sad, pathetic cynicism. Stop by anytime. 😛
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I’d say bungee jump…twenty five times!!!1 yeah that’s fun…. hehe kidding.
Seriously though, the 25 ARK’s (act of random kindness) that bridge suggested seems perfect for you. It doesn’t require anything costly, illegal and you’ll come out feeling like a real champ. ARK’s are super-feel-good and adds plus 10 to your karma!
The only downside to it is sacrificing your time…and well of course, the whole karma thing might backfire if you’re a true grouch with an ice-cold heart. :p
Note: totally forgot to finish my cat story….brb
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Finish it, Jules. Please finish it. 😦
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My 25th? I skipped out on my grad school seminar to go drinking and dancing with a friend. We went to the worst club ever, drank weak vodka tonics all night, and ended up sitting in the courtyard of my apartment for hours afterward. Nothing too drastic, but I did skip out on my scenic design class and all its miseries!
You’re only 24?
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LOL That sounds lovely. Maybe I’ll give it a shot 😛
24 soon-to-be-no-longer 🙂
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How about getting yourself a truly unique present. Maybe something you designed or helped design, a piece of jewellery maybe (doesn’t have to be diamonds, silver, beads or wood is fine too), a custom made purse, customized pen or watch, something you’d still consider using in 25 years.
A photo shoot might also be great. Not some lame looking yearbook like photography, but something you think is really cool. Maybe a susperstar shoot, that makes you look like winning an Academy Award, maybe a circus shoot where you could be director or clown or whatever else you choose.
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Oh that’s cool! Well, the photo shoot is out after the experience recalled in today’s post – but I liked the idea of a personalized item. Thanks!
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