If you’ve got the twentysomething blues , here are a few ways to put on your red shoes and dance that sucker out.
Take up fencing.
Or cooking. Or knitting. Or volunteering at an animal shelter. Or training for a half marathon.
A surefire way to feel down is to fall into the trap of going to work, coming home, watching TV, and going to bed. As comfortable as it is, you need a little more anticipation in your life than waiting for the next episode of New Girl to come on Hulu.
Hobbies will help you contribute to the world and keep learning about yourself. You'll also meet new people, which can be scary, but you never know: That girl at the softball league or that guy at cooking class could become your new best friend.
If you really feel in a rut, you aren't powerless to change it! Your new social circle or hobby or volunteering activity might not make you happy, but not trying something new is *definitely* not going to make you happy.
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Spend time with people who aren't in their twenties.
Hanging out with your peers and friends who are going through the same quarter-life dyspepsia as you is invaluable, but also make time to talk to your parents, grandparents, teachers, bosses, neighbors, and others who have been where you are. Not only can you benefit from their advice, you'll be reminded that every walk of life comes with its own pressures and weirdness. And of course, call your grandparents — you'll no doubt make their day.
On the flip side, watching a child marvel at life's simplest things — a cardboard box, a puppy — can inject some inspiration into your life. Babysit or hang out with your nieces and nephews, because surrounding yourself with other twentysomethings constantly makes it too tempting to get into a cycle of moping (and drinking).
Don't let your relationship status define you.
The secret to a happy dating life, as Chiara Atik writes, is to not worry too much about dating. On the contrary, a surefire way to feel down in the dumps about yourself is to constantly question your own abilities to love and be loved. If you can, try to approach dating as a way to meet new people and have fun, not as a constant parade of evidence that you're a total failure at this stuff.
If you're single, try not to view every man or woman you meet as a potential date, and if you're in a relationship or married, continue to develop your interests and friend circle separately from the ones you share with your partner.
