If you are 27, approaching it or just got over the barrier, chances are your life has been less than peachy-keen lately. Relationship troubles, career uncertainty and perceived lack of achievement are all common complaints during this year. Ever heard of the Forever 27 Club? It refers to an abnormally large number of people who died, sometimes under mysterious circumstances, at the age 27. Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain all crossed over into the other dimension when they were 27. Heck, even the Elephant Man didn’t live to see his 28th birthday!

On the tail end of my own 27, I decided to do some investigating. What makes this seemingly unoffensive number so difficult? Why do things tend to fall apart? Most importantly: is there a light at the end of the 27 tunnel?

Perhaps, 27 is the peak of the Quarter Life Crisis – a period ranging from mid 20s to the early 30s, prompted by the major changes of adolescence. When we envision ourselves as adults, we picture ourselves as content, confident and accomplished human beings. But by the time 27 rolls around, you can’t help but feel like the biggest loser on the planet! Your job sucks, you have a resume full of failed relationships, and everyone – including Allison Peters whose only interest was drawing porn in the back – seems to be doing better than you. How did you get here?

Well, it could be that being young & restless, you have set your goals a bit too high, in a time frame a tad too rigid. You wanted to do X,Y and Z by 25, but ended up boggled down by the responsibility and cost of adult living. I am certainly no stranger to this debacle. In my early 20s, I had big plans for becoming a rock star – platinum record on the wall & a Grammy behind my belt – all by the magical age of 25. I was so certain it was going to happen that I’d built my entire life around it – my work experience, attitude, even my wardrobe all reflected that. I had no idea that succeeding in my field required more than just a passion for music and had underestimated the time it takes to achieve my goals by half. As a result, I was presented with a basket full of broken dreams for my 25th birthday. I got over the depression eventually and by 26 re-emerged as Doe Deere, armed with a handful of pop songs and a synthesizer. But life had yet another surprise in store for me.

At 27 we find ourselves at the crossroads. You may have had one plan in mind, but the winding road takes you entirely someplace else. Maybe you were studying to be an anthropologist, but discovered your passion for medicine on a trip to Africa and are now on your way to becoming the next Gregory House. Maybe you converted to vegetarianism the first year of the law school and decided to opening your own animal clinic. Or you may have dreamed of touring the world with a band and ended up an entrepreneur/makeup artist instead. :)

The key to surviving 27 is to stay open to your options. Sure, life may not have played out exactly how you’d envisioned it at 21, but it has also shown you just how much more you can do. The picture of who you are, what you want and how you can get it gets clearer once the smoke settles. Perhaps 27 is a blessing in disguise, a challenge that is designed to make us stronger and more resilient. If you can survive 27, you can do anything!

Deerlings: what was your 27 like? Do you think there’s any truth to the theory?