Do you ever find yourself sitting in your dorm or scrolling through social media when you feel a wave of nostalgia that feels like a punch in the gut? This happens to me almost daily. It’s a hard realization that time is slipping away and we cannot stop it. When I was younger, it was daunting to imagine reaching the age of 21, as it seemed so far away and “adultlike”. Now, I am 21 and a half, and it feels like yesterday I was 16, navigating the halls of high school and teenage drama. The quote that “Time flies when you get older” is more relevant than ever. These feelings are not a made-up phenomenon, as experts warn Gen Z is already facing midlife crises.
Let’s begin to explore what exactly a midlife crisis is. It is a period of life where someone struggles with their identity and is plagued by feelings of nostalgia, thinking about the past, and feeling unfulfilled. In recent months, I have seen many people on social media discuss how they would do anything to go back to 2016. Things seemed much simpler back then when I had not a care in the world or concern for the future. People also express how life has not seemed the same since 2020 when the pandemic occurred. I believe that we all became different people since that incident, and it’s hard to picture who we were before then.
Social media is partly to blame for these feelings we are dealing with. We are constantly bombarded by images of success and happiness. Our feeds are full of photos of people traveling the world or moving into their first house/apartment. We cannot help but compare ourselves to these individuals and feel pressure to “have it all”. It’s insinuated that none of us can be happy unless we fit society’s expectations of success and can brag about it to all. When I was young, all I wanted was to grow up, believing that adulthood was a magical place where dreams become reality. Now I’m sure many of us wish we could turn back the clock and appreciate our childhoods a little more.
There are many ways we can combat these feelings. First off, it is important to remember we are not alone in this journey. Each of us is dealing with our own emotions and trying to navigate our fears and aspirations. We can also make the effort to put our phones down more often. We must live more in the present moment instead of dwelling on the past or the future. There is always something new to look forward to, and change is a natural part of growth. Let us also acknowledge that life is not guaranteed, so we should cherish the moments we have and make the most of our time.