WHAT 28 FEELS LIKEEvery year of your 20s is subject to a very specific set of emotions, at least thats what I think. 21 is great for obvious, surface-level reasons. 22 is a train wreck if you graduated in four years, and are then thrust into real life. 25 is when pretty much everything changes from your priorities to your body. And, then, theres 28. I dont know what it is about this age in particular, but Ive deemed it The Crisis Year and heres why.1. The realization that youre now officially in your late 20s is enough to send you straight into the climax of a full-blown panic attack. You dont even get to start at the beginning of the said attack, no. You wake up on your 28th birthday, screaming and dry heaving. Its an instinctual reaction to knowing that, for the next 365 days of your life, you will be teetering on the fine line between actual adulthood and clutching on desperately to your youth.2. Because youre now in your late 20s, your parents start to treat you more like an GULP adult. Even if youve been paying your own way since forever, maybe you both secretly knew deep down that, in case of a huge emergency, asking them for help wasnt off-limits. But, when 28 hits, its no longer an option.3. You just feel old(er). Theres something about the curvy lines of the number 8 that cast a darker and much more serious shadow over things. Youll still go out to popular nightlife establishments, but you will be internally ashamed about your age the entire time youre there. And the horror if someone is to ask you how old you are! Being 26 in a nightclub is vastly different. Probably because youre still in your mid-20s and because the shape of the number 6 is naturally fun and loopy, so it makes you feel safe.4. Everyone you know is getting engaged.5. Everyone you know is getting married.6. Almost everyone you know who is married, is pregnant.7. Lets face it after graduation, no ones never not getting married. Before your eyes, your Facebook feed turns into an endless stream of engagement announcements. And, unless you decide to cast yourself out of society, this parade of seemingly happy couples moving forward together wont slow down until probably age 30. But theres something about the specific age of 28 that lends itself to just being drowned in marriage announcements no matter where you turn. Its either couples who have been together for 6+ years finally taking the plunge, or real world couples who met a few years ago and got super serious, super fast. Either way, its a single 28-year-olds worst nightmare.8. Being tw0 years away from 30 is a bleak reality to face. Four years is like no big deal, because thats an entire university experience. But two? Two will soon be one, and then youre 30. 20somethings are delusional in many ways, but one of the biggest is how we think, by 30, our entire lives should be figured out. Married, babies, dream job, bla bla bla all by 30. Its a subtle attitude we all have that wants to scream, 30 OR BUST! But, the closer you inch toward that milestone birthday, the more you realize what a total crock of shit all that is. And how you couldnt be further away from having it all figured out if you tried.9. Going back to one of the first points I made, being 28 is like being a brand new, beginners level gymnast, perilously seesawing between real adulthood and (what feel like) the last crumbs of your true youth. Half of you feels an enormous pressure to fully grow-up, while the other half of you is crippled by the notion of doing so. On one hand, you are sort of ready to get serious about love, career, and overall responsibility. On the other hand, you just want to continue making out at random, dating idiots, and generally freaking the fuck out over the future. Every day you wake up, theres no telling which of these two ideals your mood is going t