Quarterlife Crisis, is that you? Still???

In around May of 2009, I entered what I later realized was the start of a very long quarterlife crisis.  I graduated from law school, figured out that I didn't want to become a lawyer, and lost sight of everything from there on out.   I started working in a job that had nothing to do with my major, let alone my law degree or even my interests.  I searched and searched for...I don't even know what.  Something that would click for me, you know?  Something that would make me feel the way I felt before entering the "real world," when I knew all the possibilities were still ahead of me and I was going to go out and, if not change the world than at least put my stamp on it.

I thought that I would get over myself by now.  I thought I would settle into my non-exciting life and feel...content.  I thought I would grow up, realize that those things I was hoping to find (like adventure, fulfillment, new experiences) were for 22 year olds still trying to decide whether they should take Art History 101 or Biochemistry 390.

Well, here I am in January 2011 and that still hasn't happened.  I'm still not exactly sure who I am or what I want or where I want or need to go.  I'm still not sure what kind of life I want to lead, where I want to lead it, or what I want to do while I'm living it.  It hasn't been easy these last few months, and I've found myself wondering what happened to me -- where did the girl I was, the girl I still hope I am at my core, go?

In the middle of all of this, I began stumbling upon blogs and websites by other women in their 20's who have been in or are going through similar situations, maybe not quarterlife crises, but feelings of being a little lost, a little unsure about their futures.  I can't tell you how wonderful and comforting it's been to find out that I'm not alone, I'm not crazy, and I'm not simply refusing to grow up.  One of these websites was Stratejoy (go check it out if any of this sounds even remotely familiar to you) which in hours began giving me inspiration and...hope.

And hope is pretty frickin' invaluable if you ask me.

One of the first things I read on the Stratejoy blog was a post about mind maps.  I'd never heard of a mind map before, but I immediately liked the sound of it.  Something in those words appealed to my organized nature, my desire to know myself a little better.  So, in the hopes of jump starting what I anticipate will be a lengthy journey toward rediscovering that girl I feel I lost touch with (read: myself), I decided to do a few things, the first of which was to create my very own mind map. 

So without further ado, here it is [as it stands today]: