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The Dartmouth
July 15, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Next Stop: Mid-Life Crisis

Dartmouth economics professor David Blanchflower's recent study on happiness and middle age ("Study Shows Depression is Common in Middle-Age," Feb. 4) seemed to scream, "Hey, you don't ever want to turn 40."

Blanchflower and Oswald's study, which involved two million people in 80 different nations, found that happiness declines in one's mid-40s and rises again in one's mid-50s -- supporting the mid-life crisis phenomenon with scientific findings.

In light of the study, it seems more important than ever to appreciate our youth. But considering the mounting pressure to take on adult responsibilities at increasingly earlier ages, enjoying the "best years of our lives" seems easier said than done.

It is true that our youth has steadily been declining. We spend less time fooling around -- Winter Carnival notwithstanding -- and more time tackling major life choices like career planning and college majors. The increased competition we will face in the real world after Dartmouth has forced us to make huge decisions at an early age.

Like Blanchflower's middle-aged test subjects, we too are aging.

I certainly felt time-related pressure when I returned to Dartmouth after winter break. Since I am a freshman, I did not assume that interning this summer was a necessity, and I was certainly overwhelmed when I returned to an inbox filled with invitations to internship panels and applications for internships -- science internships, journalism internships, business internships. Every day I would talk to someone different whose summer plans hinged on a letter or phone call accepting or rejecting them from an internship.

I was almost embarrassed to admit my own summer plans; I plan to spend time at home, probably get a job working as a camp counselor -- obviously less impressive than an internship at a major company. What I find most attractive about this version of summer was the three months of time I would have completely to myself.

Undoubtedly, internships open many doors, and I congratulate those who have been awarded any prestigious opportunities. It is important, however, for students to know that spending their freshman summers in an alternative way will yield beneficial results as well. After all, we are only teenagers. What's our rush?

I encourage you -- especially if you are a fellow freshman -- to spend this summer doing absolutely nothing. For us, this summer may be the last opportunity to be completely free from any major responsibilities. Many of us spent our high school summers impressing prospective colleges, when really, without realizing it, we were rushing towards an age at which we will look back longingly on our wasted youth.

Granted, there is no avoiding the fast-paced world of college classes, internships and jobs. Ultimately, most of us will have to submit to a life in which time will control us rather than the other (nicer) way around.

While we should embrace the opportunities that are handed to us, it is of the utmost importance that we seize the free years we have left.

"When you're young, you can allocate your time pretty freely," Blanchflower told The Dartmouth. He suggests that mid-life depression may be triggered when adults realize that they have less time to achieve their goals as they age.

If this is the case, perhaps there is no way to avoid what Blanchflower and Oswald refer to as the "U-shaped curve of happiness"; perhaps mid-life depression is inevitable.

We cannot know how we will feel or what we will want in 20 years and thus cannot know what we can do to make sure we stay content and happy. What we can do is take advantage of our youth and the time we have -- time that Blanchflower suggests is deprived to middle-aged people.

Consider using this summer to take care of your youth's unfinished business. Give your youth a proper goodbye and do all the things that you will no longer have time for in later years: Spend quality time with your family, be foolish and silly, read the books you say you are too busy for, pick up a hobby or travel.

Take advantage of the time you have. You can conquer the world another day.