Freedom 25...

I am staring out into an open field that seems to roll on forever. Everywhere I turn to look, it stretches out farther and wider than the eye can see...

The road called academia that led me here was entirely predictable. Do this, write that, go here, and at the end you will get a golden piece of paper. It will hold the key to your future. It was a safe and comfortable thought. But as I gaze ahead, with a combination of boundless freedom, careful optimism, and a dash of terrifying uncertainty in my heart, I become aware that it is now solely my responsibility…my opportunity… to figure out where I’m going next. The possibilities are endless. And I realize I need to do something that will inspire me to remember that.

And so I begin this project, and its accompanying blog. In honour of what I think it represents, I’ve decided to call it the “Quarter-Life Crisis Project”.

A brief introduction, in case you don’t know me personally. I’m Janine. I’ve been a student for essentially my entire life, until it all came to an abrupt halt on August 19, 2011. Now I find myself without classes to go to, exams to study for, or assignments to slave over. No job yet. No plans (or money) to travel around the world. Zero upcoming commitments to organize my life around. Yes, it’s a weird combination of under and overwhelming. I guess that’s why they call this quarter-life limbo a "crisis" situation. But then, I can’t help but wonder…when on earth will I ever have this much free time again in my foreseeable future? My best guess would be about 40 years from now, when freedom 65 finally re-opens up a world of possibilities. But even that isn’t quite the same, because most of the years of your life lie behind you by then. Right now, I have a whole lot of free time and a whackload of life lessons to approach...before the real world whisks me away into a neverending whirlwind of commitments and responsibilities. This is like freedom 25...sans finances to fund larger-than-life bucket list items.

So I start to think. There are a lot of things I’ve always wanted to learn, but never had the time while my nose was securely buried in a succession of textbooks. Not school things…life things. Like, for example, what it means to really lead a healthy lifestyle (Exercise? Nutrition? Sadly, foreign concepts to me.) Or how to be an eco-conscious person. Or whether my quality of life would increase if I stopped using technology so much. It's pretty common to have these things cross your mind, but a full and thorough investigation of them is normally impossible with a full-time job, kids, and other responsibilities to take care of. However…with nothing but an open field looking back at me, I have a golden opportunity to take the time to go in-depth and find out what they're all about... while also laying some much-needed groundwork for the future, to avoid permanently existing as a lazy student with a lazy student lifestyle.

Hmmm. This is an exciting thought worth pursuing. I am determined not to waste it via poor execution. It has to be do-able. It has to be trackable. It has to have some built-in motivating force, to keep me going. So I plan…and I revise…and I plan some more. And finally, here it is. The fruits of my labour... built on the backbones of such literary classics as "Eat, Pray, Love", "Julie and Julia", and "The Happiness Project". Except with a younger person. Doing different stuff. I will try to make it less cheesy. I promise.

GOAL: To learn, with as much gusto as I can muster, what it really means to live healthy, live green, live simply, and live generously…with the long-term goal of incorporating lessons learned into my everyday life.

PLAN: I’ll spend some time intently living, breathing and learning about each lifestyle in as much depth as I can. Three months for each. One year in total. If (hopefully when) I get a job somewhere along the way, I will find a way to work around it. And I’ll blog, as often as possible...so you can all hold me accountable, provide me with any (much appreciated) words of advice you have, and be highly entertained by my daily trials and tribulations in the process.

*Phew*. That's it in a nutshell, folks. As for where it will all begin...well, the first 3-month focus (September 6 to December 6, 2011) has been conveniently chosen for me, thanks to a combination of an honest doctor telling me I'd better shape up, and an irresistibly cheap groupon that entitles me to a four month membership at a gym. For the next 3 months, I'll be nearly obsessed with living healthy. The whole thing kicks off tomorrow...with a scheduled gym "fitness assessment". *Gulp* oh boy. Here it goes...