LIfe is a stage, what's your curtain?

I broached about the Curtains in our life in the previous entry. Let's recap:

Curtain Raiser
The Show
Curtain Call
The Final Curtain

Let's go into the details.

The Curtain Raiser (22 - 35)

A curtain raiser is someone who's behind the scenes doing the legwork. Literally, he raises the curtains for others. His job is therefore that of a rank and file. There is not much decision making in terms of his career, and is usually relegated to the back office. As such, the pay he gets is also minimal.

This is the most important stage of a person's financial and economic life. Your body is at its prime. Your mind is still very much alert. You adapt to situations faster. Therefore, you learn things faster. However, on the flip side, you also tend to go out to explore new experiences. You want to try the newest restaurant, buy the latest gadget. Go to Boracay during Summer, etc etc. The list goes on.

At this age, people have just graduated from college. They have this idealistic view of the world - a big, romanticized place where the pay is good and life is great. When reality strikes, they realize that reality and idealism is like oil and water.

Financially speaking, this part of your life can make - or break - your financial stability in the years to come. We tend to spend more on useless things when we are young; and, this is where the problem begins.

There's a growing belief that there is such a thing as a quarter life crisis. A point in which people are disillusioned about work and life in general. So people this age try to find their purpose.

There is so much we can talk about and posting my thoughts about it - once, twice, even more - will not be enough. Suffice it to say, and in the interest of simplicity, this is the most critical part of our lives for the following reasons:

Curtain Raisers are just starting out yet the temptation and urge to spend is difficult to resist. They don't appreciate the virtue of patience, and would rather have that "I want it now" mentality. The future is far away, life is short, therefore, enjoy everything while you can.

Curtain Raisers also have a problem psychologically and that is trying to find their passion and purpose. The irony sometimes is that they realize that the greater the passion is for something, the less financially rewarding it is. Passion and paycheck is inversely related.

I'll discuss the next curtain in my following entry.