A proper quarterlife crisis involves a certain amount of disillusionment, ennui¹, boredom², fear, anxiety, and growing pains. But those terrifying sounding emotions are the ones that get all the press—how about giving that “growing” some props³ for once?

25岁以后，几乎每个人都会经历自我怀疑、情绪不稳、迷茫未来的阶段，这叫做1/4生命危机症候群。1/4生命危机表现为心理的幻灭感，对生活感到倦怠、无聊、恐惧和焦虑的一系列成长烦恼。但正是这些听起来可怕的情绪问题带来了所有的压力：我们如何才能为这些成长烦恼找到情绪支撑和慰藉呢？

You Know What Friendship Is

友情到底是什么

In high school or college, friendship was mostly a matter of geography—who you had classes with or who lived down the hall or joined the same club. Out in the real world for a while, you’ve learned that real friendship is made of tougher and—and dare we say it—better stuff. (Although just wait until you’re in your thirties and everyone’s getting married and having kids…that’s when the real test comes.)

在高中或者大学时代，友情其实就是建立在地域之上的：和你一起上课，和你同宿舍，或一起参加了某个社团。而在社会上，你会发现友情的建立会更加困难，甚至会更加物质化。（等你到了30岁，结了婚有了孩子，这才是真正考验友情的时候。）

Sunscreen Is Important

防晒霜很重要

Right around age twenty-five, you start to be able to tell who wears sunscreen and who’s a sun-worshipper—the sunscreeners still have dewy, youthful skin, while the tanners have the beginnings of crows-feet and brown spots. Which group do you want to be in?

当你到了25岁左右，你开始能分辨谁擦了防晒霜，谁爱晒太阳了。擦了防晒霜的女人都有一脸水嫩年轻肌肤，而那些爱把皮肤晒成棕褐色的人脸上就开始鱼尾纹和雀斑横生了。你会加入到哪个队列中去呢？

You Don't Know Everything

你不会通晓一切

Ever heard that saying, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” College makes you feel like you’ve got it all figured out, and that blinds you to the truth—which is that you know so little, you can’t even comprehend how little you know. Luckily, the real world is quite handy at disabusing⁵ you of the notion that you’re a twenty-two-year-old font of wisdom. At work, in relationships… the more experience you get, the more you realize how much more you still have to learn.

经常听到人说：“没文化真可怕”。大学文凭让你感觉自己博学多才，而恰恰是这样的想法蒙蔽了真相：其实你什么都不懂，你甚至都还未意识到这一点。幸运地是，这个现实的世界会非常乐意让你明白：你只是个有着22岁头脑的小女孩。在工作中，在恋爱关系中，你经历得越多，你就会越发意识到自己还有那么多东西需要学习。

You Can’t Pull Off Every Trend

你不可能驾驭所有的流行趋势

Skinny jeans, thigh-high boots, hippie headbands, crop tops—you can't win'em all. You’ve learned which ones work and that it's okay to abstain⁶ from the ones that don't.

紧身牛仔裤，长筒高跟鞋，嬉皮士头巾以及露脐上衣，你不可能都适合。你需要发现哪种风格适合你，然后明智地丢掉剩下的衣服。

Living with Five Roommates Is Terrible

和五个朋友合住很恐怖

It isn’t one totally awesome⁷ continuous bohemian girl-power slumber⁸ party. It’s just a pain in the ass⁴. You’ve resolved that you’ll share your next apartment with only one other roommate.

波西米亚风的睡衣派对不会一直进行着。一群女孩合住一屋实在令人头疼。你必须下定决心，下一次换住处，只能跟一个室友分享公寓。

Your Degree is Meaningless

文凭一文不值

All those hours you fretted⁹ about your major and wondering if it was marketable enough, if your GPA was high enough, and if your extracurriculars were impressive enough…and now you know that most employers just want to see that you’ve completed something. Who cares if it’s a degree in drama or basket-weaving or P.E.? Nobody cares about the particulars of what you did in college, only that you went and finished.

大学里，你花了大部分的时间纠结自己的专业课将来是否能很吃香，或者自己的GPA是否够高，社团工作是否做得很赞……而你现在明白了，所有企业看重的是你真正有过什么成就。谁会在乎你是学戏剧还是篮球、家政还是体育呢？没人会关心你的大学细节，他们只关心你参加和完成了的工作。

Everyone Compromises

每个人都会向现实妥协

So you thought you’d ride the powerful wave of your idealism into a job where you’d change the world and find glory? Sometimes you have to take a job because you need health insurance. Sometimes you make the sensible, safe decision instead of the one that you’re passionate¹⁰ about. Sometimes you make allowances in your righteous ideology¹¹ to account for the fact that quite often, life is just about getting through the day. Congratulations—you’re human.

是不是认为自己会乘着理想主义的浪潮投身于事业，改变世界找寻成就的光辉？但是现在，你会为了医疗保险而接受某份工作，你会做出很理智而保守的决定，不再随性而定。你会客观公正地让步，因为你明白了人生中最寻常的事实：生活就是度过每一天。恭喜你，你成为了真正的社会人！