Speed Bump

One of the many things that makes professional school different from undergraduate school is the age range of the student population. Lots of people here seem to have impending 25th birthdays.

That can be a bad one if you don't see it coming. I'm not yet thirty, though I will be once I graduate... but since most people think of thirty as one of the more dreadful birthdays (i.e. no longer able to euphemize one's standing as a 'young adult,' mid-life crisis looming in the background, incessant ticking of biological clock. etc.), 25 shows up without too much prior apprehension or appreciation. But 25 allows you to rent a car (in California) and call yourself a quarter-century old.

'Quarter-century' is the melodramatic way of describing that 25-year mark. Natural thoughts include, "Wow, I'm 25. What have I accomplished? Am I anywhere near my dreams? My parents are telling me to get married," and so on and so forth. There's also a fair bit of anxiety as well - a lot of people around here seem to have been hoping to be well on the way to accomplishing their amibitions or dreams at this age, however unrealistic that might be for most of us. That perceived 'failure' to reach those goals by this 'ripe old age' is what causes that stress, of course. The temptation to chortle, "Oh, grow up..." is overwhelming. Some people 'make it' by 25, but fortune is not nearly so generous with most of us. We'll do things on the best schedule that we can. That's all.

Even so, I tell them, "25's not so bad, as long as you see it coming. Evaluate where you are, understand the reasons, and then it won't bother you. It's only when you can't see it coming that it floors you. Otherwise, you'll know when to duck."

Wisdom? No. But it's no use to be so overwrought.