Two Month Countdown

posted 20th April 2010    Written by: Nicole Antoinette    CATEGORY: Job/Career/Work, Love/Relationships, Nicole Antoinette, Quarterlife Crisis, Season 2

In less than two months, I’m going to be 25.

Um, WHAT?

That’s not a rhetorical question. Seriously, what? Can someone please come over and sit me down and explain how I went from high school to college to being four years out of college to being in my two month countdown to turning 25 years old? Because I sure as hell can’t seem to figure that one out.

When people bring up my birthday and my eyes go all dinner-plate-big, they remind me that “age is just a number” and that “25 isn’t any different than 24.” To which I say, “flkjgflkghj,” because 25 sounds like a much more serious adult age than any age I’ve ever been, and let’s not forget that at 25 I can much more inexpensively rent a car. Let’s not forget that.

Truthfully, I have no idea what will be going on the day I turn 25. I know it’s only two months away, but in my current roller coaster life, two months is two eternities. It was only four months ago that I signed on to write for Stratejoy, and I did so from my parents’ couch in Arizona, surrounded by no job, no place to live, no life plan, and a crush on a boy in San Francisco. In the four months that have screeched by between then and now, I got off their couch, got in my car, and drove my no job, no place to live, no life plan, and big crush from Arizona to San Francisco to see how things played out. Here’s how they played out:

I arrived in San Francisco on a Sunday night and checked into a hostel in a questionable area in the pouring rain. It took three minutes for me to question my sanity, three hours for me to call my mom hysterically crying, and three days for things to unravel with that boy.

And so, less than a week into my “Nicole is so brave and moved to San Francisco!” plan, I had lost the only real connection I had to an entirely unknown city and was staring down an overwhelming case of “What now?”

I needed to regroup.

I needed a friend and a bubbly drink and a plate of cheese and I needed them now. Jamie agreed to come out with me, to take our we-met-through-Twitter friendship offline and finally squeal and jump around together in person. A drink later, we realized we were best friend soulmates. A day later we signed a lease together. A week later we decided to join creative forces to relaunch Shatterboxx Media, her kickass awesome graphic and web design company. And four months later we’re really doing it, working from home, expanding the business, pursuing our writing, exploring the city, and drinking a damn impressive amount of wine along the way.

Which makes me wonder, if four months can give me an entirely new life, top to bottom, can something equally as soul changing come about in the next two?

I don’t see why not. Stay tuned.

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Comments (7)

7 Responses to “Two Month Countdown”

  • Doniree Says:
    April 20th, 2010 at 4:25 pm

    Oh now this gives me GOOSEBUMPS. Oh, and I'll see you in ONE month. From today. And I can't wait to see what's happened – for both of us – in that time.

  • Doniree Says:
    April 20th, 2010 at 4:27 pm

    Also? In four months…? I've gone from… Denver vs. Chicago to picking neither and moving to Boulder. To taking a long-distance relationship to too-close-proximity and watching that unravel. To quitting a well-paying job because I wanted to write and travel instead. To writing and traveling instead. And to finding myself in a city that's both geeky and hippie. You're right – the next 2, 4, 6, 12 months? Um, WHAT? Is right. And 25? Wait til 27 because it's closer to 30 which is all grown up sounding and weird. (but really, really fun)

  • Jenni Says:
    April 20th, 2010 at 5:10 pm

    My birthday is less than a month away (May 11!) and I'll also be 25 this year. I want to so badly have a hug life change like you did just four months ago but I don't know where to start. I freak out about health insurance, paying for my car, paying for my student loans, etc., etc., etc., and because of that I feel like my life is stuck in a not so fun rut.
    Thanks for this motivational and happy post. Gives me hope that this next year will be my best… if only I get my butt off of my couch!

  • Katie [blogs] Says:
    April 20th, 2010 at 7:11 pm

    This is awesome, Nicole. I love seeing the transformation from "Where the hell am I?" to "Where the hell am I…(with a smile). I'm stoked to see where you end up, and hopefully one day it'll be across the table from me sharing wine and cheese.

  • Romantic Comedee Says:
    April 20th, 2010 at 7:16 pm

    Go for it. I am a huge fan of your taking life by the horns and just doing it. Ooh, can I get in on the Wine and Cheese party with Katie? Keep it going girls, you are an inspiration.

  • Lindsay Says:
    April 22nd, 2010 at 10:56 pm

    As I see it, your twenties are for making out with people all the time and making mistakes and learning from them. Your thirties are still for making out, but with less people and making less mistakes because you know how to avoid them. I had a full-on crisis when I turned 25 and was also trying to freelance as a writer, so I can relate. Now I'm 30 and I wish I had spent less time worrying about everything in my twenties and more time enjoying it. I don't want to sound all condescending-y, but enjoy it!

  • Nikki Says:
    April 22nd, 2010 at 6:50 pm

    this is so awesome – F YEAH! THAT is what life's all about; not being scared to take a chance, even though you don't know where it will lead, and trusting where it does lead. Don't worry about 25; the way you're living, it's going to be a great year.

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