Why Turning 25 Feels Like A Midlife Crisis

By Nizam Zaini  •  19 Aug 2025 in Last Word

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There’s something about turning 25 that just feels weird. It’s not like 30 where people say “Wah, big milestone,” but somehow 25 also makes you panic a bit.

A quarter of a century sounds super old when you say it out loud, and suddenly you start thinking, “Eh, what have I even achieved ah?”

Most of the time, you’re still trying to decide if staying up late playing games such as Genshin Impact is considered stress relief or just avoiding your responsibilities.

Honestly, 25 feels like the stage where your twenties stop being all fun-fun and start feeling like a practice run for adulthood, but you’re also  not sure if you’re ready for it or not. 

The comparison trap

Turning 25 is like scrolling through Instagram and feeling like everyone’s playing different levels of adulthood.

Some friends are climbing corporate ladders, others are buying houses, getting engaged, or announcing pregnancies while you’re still debating whether to invest in skincare or another round of cafe-hunting in KL.

The pressure to “catch up” can be suffocating, but the truth is that life doesn’t follow a single template. Still, it’s hard not to feel like you’re somehow behind (sucks to be a human, wish I was a cat, all meow and eat, no stress).

The existential dread

A quarter-century milestone forces reflection, sometimes a little too much. You start asking big, terrifying questions like “Am I doing enough?”, “Is this really my path?”, “Will I ever afford a house in KL?”.

The obsession with ticking off milestones such as career, love, money makes you measure yourself against impossible standards.

But maybe this “crisis” is less about failure and more about realignment. A messy, uncomfortable push to figure out what you actually want, instead of what you thought you were supposed to want.

The physical wake-up call

And then there’s your body, betraying you with subtle reminders that you’re not 19 anymore. Hangovers last for two days, your back protests after sitting too long, and suddenly you realise you actually need Panadol in your bag, just in case.

It’s not “old,” but it’s the first time you really feel time moving. That awareness of youth slowly slipping into adulthood is enough to make anyone spiral.

So… is turning 25 really a crisis?

Maybe turning 25 feels like a crisis, but honestly it’s just the start of figuring things out. A midlife crisis is about regret, a quarter-life crisis is more like “Eh, why my life macam tak gerak one?”

It’s messy, confusing, sometimes scary, but also when you start slowly shaping your own path. It’s not the grand ending but more like the awkward tutorial stage of adulthood.

The only difference? This stage comes with bills, back pain, and friends suddenly discussing ASB financing instead of which mamak to lepak at.

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