for anyone feeling lost in their 20's, watch this video

Auto-captioned from the film, lightly cleaned. Elena's words, not edited prose.

We have been cleared for departure. Okay, hear me out. We have all heard about the midlife crisis. Think of that like 45-year-old guy who needs to buy like a sports car. Of course, Julia Roberts and Eat, Pray, Love. But what about the quarter life crisis? Okay, maybe more of like a third life crisis, but quarter life crisis sounds better. So, we're going with that. So, for any of you guys out there in your 20s and early 30s wondering where the hell am I going and what am I supposed to do?

I'm right there with you. Turns out this is actually a whole damn thing. There's a Wikipedia article on it that describes this phenomenon as a crisis involving anxiety over the direction and quality of one's life. experienced in a period ranging of early 20s to their mid30s. This has been so real lately. I wake up in the morning with kind of a sense of dread. It's really hard getting out of bed. It's constantly asking myself, what am I supposed to be doing? Who are my people? What's my purpose? As somebody who works a non-traditional job, I do YouTube full-time, which I am so grateful for, but there's not a lot of longevity there or career stability.

And every time I go to any family gathering, people are like, "So, what are you going to do next?" Which can be very discouraging and lead to a lot of anxiety and existential questions. And I think on top of that and not really being sure of where you want to live or who you want to build a life with, it can get really overwhelming. Personally, I felt like there's been this kind of like dark cloud hanging over me for honestly the past year, if not more. So this is what brings me here today.

Know I'm not the only one asking these questions and feeling this uncertainty and I really want to try to find the good amidst all of this. I do think it's an opportunity to really reflect upon choices you've made so far. The question is basically do you want to stay on the path you're currently going down or is it maybe time for a pivot? I'm so grateful to be able to look up and feel like I have some great dreams come to fruition up until this point. But also at the same time, I feel like I've been really stagnant in the last year or two.

Maybe you can relate here. You know, a few years in the same place with the same people, the same routine. Honestly, my overarching feeling these days is literally the Katy Perry song. I do indeed feel like a plastic bag drifting through the wind. But I think we can take advantage of this. I believe that you can't really begin to think about where you're going next without stopping to really think about where you're coming from. I mean, it's a challenge to understand you and what you want with only evaluating the current moment.

That's why it's important to really reflect on the beliefs and the way of life that was passed down to you to really figure out what works for you and what doesn't. So, I've always been drawn to this idea of chapters in this metaphorical book that is my life. And when I look back on my life, I feel like there are very clear chapters that have really formed me. We're going way back to the very start of the book. I was born in Paris and my parents moved to Suburban, Southern California.

And it's here that I really started dreaming of a bigger life. I felt just a bit stifled by the classic American suburban experience. I was also a pretty shy, reserved kid, like stayed in on Fridays doing homework. So, I really dreamt about the life that would come once I moved out and moved on. and dreamt of it being filled with big cities and travel and events and concerts and fashion. Then there was the college chapter. This is where I kind of began to break out of my shell. I had like a full like punk moment.

I then decided to move to Paris on my own when I was 18 to be an Opair, which was very pivotal for me in really finding my own voice. After that, I transferred to the college I would graduate from in San Diego, where I really fell in love with nature and the ocean and built these really deep friendships that I felt like I really belonged in. And then once again, I was like, it's time for something completely different. So then came New York. I moved completely on my own. There's been so much that's happened in those last 5 years.

I was in a 2 and a half year relationship. There was the co chapter. There have been the summer travels. There's been the chapters of feeling lonely and finding friends and really growing so much further in myself. Also, at the same time, I feel like I've been really stagnant in the last year or two. All these chapters have obviously led me to where I am today. I'm going on year five in New York, which I honestly feel like such a super senior. And I'm obviously so grateful. I've made some really good friends here.

Like, I'm healthy. My work is relatively stable. And yet, despite this, I find myself so anxious all the time. For one, kind of the monotony of feeling like I'm pretending being adult, but also having no clue what's to come or what I should be doing to get there. So, what's the point of all of this? By looking back, you can see the values and priorities that either been handed down to you or you've slowly formed through your own repeated actions over time. What's defined me and do I want to keep it this way?

And there are certain truths that I've created that stand out to me time and time again. For me, it's important to be somewhere where I really feel incredibly inspired. I know I want to use creativity for good. I know I deeply value my freedom. And I love being my own boss. I love being the master of my own schedule and time. I know I love being surrounded by people I love and community. And I'm used to change. I think I actually really learned to thrive in it. I feel really energized when I'm in a new environment and I always want to be growing and evolving and trying to become a better person.

So, if you're feeling similar this season, I guess my main encouragement would be try stopping for a second and zooming out. Check in with yourself, your values and priorities, and assess whether it's time for a kind of pivot. Maybe your values are the same from a few years ago. Or maybe they're totally different and that's why you're feeling a disconnect. Maybe also you're nowhere near where you thought you'd be by now. And that's okay. nobody has it figured out. And hopefully you can just uncover a bit more of who you are in that process.

And while there is a lot of this lack of clarity and direction, I'm like, why not why don't we take advantage of this freedom and kind of step into the unknown? I definitely feel like I'm facing that question right now, like maybe it's time for that next chapter. So now I want to talk a little bit about what I'm personally going to be doing about this. Maybe this is classic escapism speaking, but what if I forced myself to face uncertainty and isolation that could truly challenge my sense of self and the way I view work and relationships in the future.

So, I've done a small scale version of this by moving from California to New York. And it was beautiful and terrifying and so challenging. And so, I find myself now feeling like I'm ready for another chapter. And what if I took it up a notch? So 6 months ago, I started an application for a long-term talent visa in France. And after months and months, I finally got my passport back in the mail. And now it has this cute little visa in it. Just got this in the mail. I'm going to get emotional.

So I'm Paris bound. So why France? Big reason is I really want to work on my French. I've studied on and off since high school. I think it's really beautiful to have a goal for yourself that's completely self-motivated. And I'm really curious about how living in Paris could help reorient some of my cultural habits and priorities as not just an American, but particularly a New Yorker. The times I visited there, I find myself so inspired to slow down and to reorient my own values. And I know this all probably sounds a little dreamy and a touch naive.

And I'm very aware of the loneliness and the struggles that come along with this, but for me, it's that thing that I've always said I wanted to do. So I figured if not now, then when? Now, I know moving to a foreign country is not an option for most people, but I really believe that there are so many ways to induce novelty or new challenges into your life, wherever you may be that can help you kind of work your way through the weird intricacies of this quarter life crisis. Maybe it's starting your own business, quitting a job, asking if you can be remote, or doing that thing you've always wanted to try, but you've always been a little too scared to do.

I'm starting off with just a couple months at a time, sublitting my New York apartment and renting in Paris. But I've got my working visa, which makes me finally a resident of France. Hello. Hello from Paris. I made it. I'm staying here at my friend Damon's apartment for the next couple months and I'm trying something new. Of course, changing cities like this isn't going to fix all my problems and all the things we've discussed, but it's already such a good chance to really challenge myself. And I feel myself being pushed outside my comfort zone and forced to kind of reconstruct the usual lens with which I go about and see my day-to-day life.

Even in just my short time, like I said, it is lonely. like there are highs and lows and there are pros and cons that come with shaking up your life, but I'm so glad I'm here and I'm trying something different to kind of grow through my quarter life crisis. So, I hope you also have enjoyed this video. I kind of was trying out a different filming and editing style as I wanted to kind of show you what I'm currently going through to hopefully encourage anybody else to know that you're not going through it alone.

We're struggling together out here. As I've been saying, I know that moving across the world is not a quick fix for this, but I feel like if anything, what I'm learning on this journey through going through these seasons of life is that I'm learning to settle into the gray area and finding more peace just settling into the present moment and the unknowns because I don't want to be so anxious about the future and the next steps and where I should be going that I completely miss out on the current moment that I'm living in.

It's not so much as striving for more and more and more, but finding a few things that are important to you or perhaps you want to change and kind of narrowing in and just leaning into those. But I do think taking brave steps in a new direction is so good for learning and growing and pushing through feeling kind of stagnant and lost. It's great for sparking creativity and new thought processes. And maybe that's just what you need.