By Kristen Barraskentucky Kernel (U. Kentucky)04/09/2002

(U-WIRE) LEXINGTON, Ky. – Less than a month before graduation, seniors are feeling the stress.

The pressures of starting a life after college are immense, and many find themselves unprepared for the prospect of starting a career and a family as well as being on their own for the first time.

That’s how University of Kentucky’s Rebecca Sams said she feels as graduation approaches for the sociology and philosophy senior.

“It freaks me out to think that I’ve been within the same system for as long as I can remember,” she said.

Sams said she planned to go to law school but panicked when she realized she didn’t have any backup plans.

“I know people have normal fears but I felt trapped,” she said

Alexandra Robbins, a contributing editor at Mademoiselle magazine, said such feelings are common among college graduates searching for a career and a path in life.

Robbins and Abby Wilner, a Web site administrator in Washington, D.C., have dubbed the feeling “quarterlife crisis” and have written a book about it called “Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties.”

“The quarterlife crisis is a response to reaching a major turning point in life and grappling with 20-something identity issues,” she said.

While the mid-life crisis focuses on a sense of stagnancy, Robbins and Wilner said the quarterlife crisis is a response to instability, a feeling of helplessness and an overwhelming number of choices.

Facing many choices and being able to pick only one can overwhelm many graduating students.

“When you start college, you still feel like you can do anything,” said Holly Goddard Jones, an English senior.

“By the time you reach this stage (getting ready to graduate), you realize that you’re choosing a path that’s going to take up the rest of your life,” she said.

Critics of the quarterlife crisis contend today’s 20-somethings can look forward to a life of greater comfort and security than could any previous generation.

Robbins acknowledged the problems faced by young adults may not seem as challenging as those faced by people in other age groups.

Robbins added most of the people who criticize the idea are middle aged and think nothing could be as intense as the things with which they are dealing.

Robbins reminds young people they are not alone in feeling overwhelmed, and being prepared for this change can help make it easier.

“You don’t have to have everything settled by the time you’re 30 or 35,” she said.