Reinventing Yourself at 40: Just Another Term for "Finding Yourself"?

[katinvancouver]

University graduates backpack across Europe in search of finding themselves, and I often wondered what they were looking for, and what does 'finding yourself' #findingyourself even mean?

Some might say they're in search of the international hostel party scene, and others might say they're avoiding the post-grad job hunt, or could it just be a right of passage? Either way, people from all over the world...travel the world in search of finding something, and until very recently, I've never really understood what any of that meant, until now. I believe that yes, people do travel the world in search of something, and some find that something, and some do not.

Regardless of the outcome, I truly believe that a calling is made to them, a search for that missing piece of their existence. I also believe that once you reach a certain age, that calling suddenly appears once again. Is it possible that once you hit 40 you have the need to reinvent yourself, the same self that you found back in your 20's? The answer I believe is yes. I've recently found the desire to not only paint, design handbags, travel but also write! Where did this come from? I was quite satisfied with my life as it was, dare I say even happy? But once I discovered all these new variations of myself, I've become even more happy, elated actually to start each and every new day.

Have I reinvented myself, or did I just find myself? Or perhaps while 20 year olds are finding themselves, 40 year olds are reinventing themselves... What are your thoughts?

[Stefvhen]

In my opinion I disagree with the entire re-inventing yourself idea because you're the same person you always were, however that being said I do believe in the idea of finding yourself. I believe I find myself finding myself a lot of the time, this is what I presume happens as you go through life, because finding yourself to me is just experiences you have.

[Anonymous]

I never understood the after uni euro backpack trip. Like how do they afford that? Do they just use their dad's credit card? I'm in my final year of undergrad and I've been working and I know I'd never be able to afford to go on one of those trips. I plan on going straight to work afterwards. And a year of not school or work is going to make getting a job worse. That's just a big black spot in your resume that is going to look really bad in the eyes of an employer.

[Curmudgeon]

THIS. So much THIS.