Today's TLA of the day is QLC
Quarter Life Crisis
My inspiration today comes from talking to my coworker and my college friend about attending a church. It is interesting to analyze that there are so many young urban professionals out there who need to figure out where God is in their lives at this moment. I am probably not alone in experiencing this in life, but I offer you my own research and analysis. I grew up Catholic in Southern California. Specifically, I grew up in Eagle Rock, a mostly Filipino community northeast of downtown Los Angeles. For all of you from the Bay Area think Daly City or Milpitas. Anyways, I started thinking about young adults' spirituality in their 20's. I started seriously analyzing my own spirituality and philosophy. I started thinking about how my relationship with God is quite different from when I was a child, when I was a teenager, when I was in college, and now after I have graduated from College. A little background, I literally grew up Catholic. I went to a Catholic elementary school (Dominican Order). I went to a Catholic high school (Franciscan Order). And finally I went to a Catholic University (Jesuit Order). Anyways, its pretty crazy but I went to Catholic school all my life. Each one of these schools taught a different sense of what it meant to be Catholic and what God's role in your stages of life. Elementary school taught the omnipotent God. High School taught me that God is in good people around you. College taught me that God is transcendent (Its a very ambiguous term but look it up). I haven't seriously thought about this issue about God and his/her relevance in my life since I graduated from High School. Maybe I took too many "Academic analysis courses" of God in College. I took courses called "The Problem of God," "The Historical Jesus," and even "Theology of Marriage." These courses gave me enough to think about in college. And I guess that's what is really missing as someone who is about to turn 25. I have to ask myself what is giving me "enough to think about" in life, as far as God is concerned. I mean college courses and classes are great, because they give a lot of theoretical ideas. However, there is nothing better than learning from real world experiences to hammer those ideas home. I think when I went to college and the subsequent years after, I didn't really think about God or rather I didn't put God at a higher priority. For example, I made excuses for not going to church every Sunday (I still went once in a while). I made excuses like well I have to do homework, or I have a big project, or I am still pretty hungover from the wicked party last night, or I just played golf and I am really lazy right now. At any rate, I think my problem is that God wasn't the priority. I mean I don't want to be a fanatical Catholic or anything like that, I just need to find a healthy devotion to God. My claim is that people in their 20's lose this healthy devotion. They lose who and what God means, because they are caught up with trivial crap that really doesn't matter (what I define as "crap" are money, fame, success, failure, fashion, grades, work, car, and the rest of capitalistic symbols of the world). I guess I am at a crossroad in my life where I should do something which puts my priority back to the big G. And I guess this is what I call my quarter life crisis.
Enjoy,
Jonathan
Quarter Life Crisis
My inspiration today comes from talking to my coworker and my college friend about attending a church. It is interesting to analyze that there are so many young urban professionals out there who need to figure out where God is in their lives at this moment. I am probably not alone in experiencing this in life, but I offer you my own research and analysis. I grew up Catholic in Southern California. Specifically, I grew up in Eagle Rock, a mostly Filipino community northeast of downtown Los Angeles. For all of you from the Bay Area think Daly City or Milpitas. Anyways, I started thinking about young adults' spirituality in their 20's. I started seriously analyzing my own spirituality and philosophy. I started thinking about how my relationship with God is quite different from when I was a child, when I was a teenager, when I was in college, and now after I have graduated from College. A little background, I literally grew up Catholic. I went to a Catholic elementary school (Dominican Order). I went to a Catholic high school (Franciscan Order). And finally I went to a Catholic University (Jesuit Order). Anyways, its pretty crazy but I went to Catholic school all my life. Each one of these schools taught a different sense of what it meant to be Catholic and what God's role in your stages of life. Elementary school taught the omnipotent God. High School taught me that God is in good people around you. College taught me that God is transcendent (Its a very ambiguous term but look it up). I haven't seriously thought about this issue about God and his/her relevance in my life since I graduated from High School. Maybe I took too many "Academic analysis courses" of God in College. I took courses called "The Problem of God," "The Historical Jesus," and even "Theology of Marriage." These courses gave me enough to think about in college. And I guess that's what is really missing as someone who is about to turn 25. I have to ask myself what is giving me "enough to think about" in life, as far as God is concerned. I mean college courses and classes are great, because they give a lot of theoretical ideas. However, there is nothing better than learning from real world experiences to hammer those ideas home. I think when I went to college and the subsequent years after, I didn't really think about God or rather I didn't put God at a higher priority. For example, I made excuses for not going to church every Sunday (I still went once in a while). I made excuses like well I have to do homework, or I have a big project, or I am still pretty hungover from the wicked party last night, or I just played golf and I am really lazy right now. At any rate, I think my problem is that God wasn't the priority. I mean I don't want to be a fanatical Catholic or anything like that, I just need to find a healthy devotion to God. My claim is that people in their 20's lose this healthy devotion. They lose who and what God means, because they are caught up with trivial crap that really doesn't matter (what I define as "crap" are money, fame, success, failure, fashion, grades, work, car, and the rest of capitalistic symbols of the world). I guess I am at a crossroad in my life where I should do something which puts my priority back to the big G. And I guess this is what I call my quarter life crisis.
Enjoy,
Jonathan
