Pompee’s Crisis

Welcome to a chaotic world inspired by perpetual thoughts of uncovering success, combating uncertainty, and conquering self-inflicted adversity. My name is Alexander Pompee and I am a self-aware millennial going through a “Quarter Life Crisis.”

It all started during my college graduation in the Summer of 2014.  As I strutted on the lavish University of Central Florida stage in front of a colossal sea of parents, overpowered by my mother’s deafening applause, I couldn’t help but embrace every millisecond of my fifteen minutes of fame. In that moment, I thought I finally beat the excruciatingly difficult game that is life. My younger self felt like he reached the coveted promise land. Unfortunately,  a college degree doesn’t automatically grant you a high-paying job, a fancy loft in New York, keys to a Lamborghini Murcielago, or match you with the love of your life. Now that I’m three years removed from my college graduation, that naive incarnation of Alexander Pompee is dead to me.

Today, I have a job paying me my worth, a fuel-efficient 2015 Toyota Corolla, my very own marketing company, pretty comfy bed, and a seductive selfie on Tinder.  While my current success doesn’t hold a candle to my 2014 delusion of grandeur, life for me is pretty sweet. However, I can’t help but fear my impending 25th birthday. I feel like an overwhelmed high school senior that is only half-way done on their final exam with five minutes remaining. My anxiety stems from an over-zealous approach to goal-setting. If you thought 2014 Pompee was ridiculous, 2002 Pompee thought he was going to be a famous rapper who would amass wealth through his NBA career and eventually spend his retirement on the beautiful island of Bora Bora. You would think I’d learn my lesson about reasonable expectations, but I continue to fall victim to my own hype. However, hype isn’t the only reason for the chorus of doubts in my mind.

Nearly 25 years on this earth and my journey to success appears to be on a hiatus. I’m bombarded by intrusive thoughts about my transition into adulthood. Here’s a slight snippet of my conflicted mind:

Am I the man I thought I’d grow up to be? Who will I end up with? Will I ever pay my mother back for all that she’s done for me? When will I officially rid myself of my student loans? Have I made it yet?

Even though I am a dramatic overly-ambitious individual with the patience of a teenager, many people can identify with my plight. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the concept of the quarter life crisis. According to dictionary.com, the quarter life crisis is a crisis that may be experienced in one’s twenties, involving anxiety over the direction and quality of one’s life. A youthful remix of the midlife crisis, the quarter life crisis is an epidemic that plagues my people, the millennials. This time of our life is influenced by the steep loans, terrible dating experiences, and a struggle to gain undisputed independence.  In order to fight the personification of my personal demons, I plan to write about my struggles. While my life is a unique one, my problems are echoed in my generation, which inspires me to call this movement “Your Quarter Life Crisis.”

Your Quarter Life Crisis is a movement in the form of a blog. My goal is to document my efforts to combat my crisis and touch readers who have experienced similar problems with theirs. Be prepared for complex discussions about success, love, fear, and many more topics. Music acts as a narrator in my life, so every blog post will come with a song of the day. The last component is you, the reader. My crisis is your crisis and I want to hear from you. Let me know if you agree with my post or feel like I’m full of garbage. Share my blog if you ever feel inspired. Show a little love and call me awesome. Make your voice heard because I’m making mines heard every week.

As I envision my series of blog posts, I can’t help but think of a powerful quote from Big Sean’s song, Bigger Than Me, that perfectly captures my struggle with the Quarter Life Crisis.

With all the work that’s goin’ on, I feel like this is like my second time doin’ it. So , I know that sound crazy but, you know I just I don’t know why I always imagine myself as like someone who failed at everything he ever did at life you know and I got to the end of life and just regretted it all and somehow, this is my chance to go back and get it all right. And when I wake up with that, I might say, you know it completely changes my hunger, how I approach the whole day. I mean you decide to live your life like that then pshh man I guarantee we’ll live life to our best potential. It’s that simple? It’s all about living in the moment. Period.

Stay tuned for my blog posts!