How "normal" has your life been so far?

[minacia]

This is less of a fun poll and more of a normal one...

Okay's start with the trajectory of a "normal" life:

And let's briefly mention the classic depiction of a "normal" middle-class family:

Now onto questions:

1. How "normal" has your life been so far?

2. In what ways has your life deviated from "normal"?

3. In what ways has your life deviated from what you expected/imagined? Are you happy with the ways thing turned out?

4. Do you want a "normal" life (i.e. getting married, buying a house in suburbs, mowing the lawn, having kids...)?

 

[ArcadiaBlade]

1. How "normal" has your life been so far?

The only normal thing that happened to me is basically having siblings?

2. In what ways has your life deviated from "normal"?

The moment i was born. It already deviated into an anime protagonist's life.

3. In what ways has your life deviated from what you expected/imagined? Are you happy with the ways thing turned out?

Basically god sleeping while sleeping on the keyboard basically that. No. I'm basically playing on a high difficulty setting which only given few benefits on playing the game longer.

4. Do you want a "normal" life (i.e. getting married, buying a house in suburbs, mowing the lawn, having kids...)?

Yeah? Become a father that doesn't abandoned my kids for another woman, live a normal life without entering politics and live a life as a happy dad.

 

[EternalSunset0]

1. How "normal" has your life been so far?
2. In what ways has your life deviated from "normal"?
3. In what ways has your life deviated from what you expected/imagined? Are you happy with the ways thing turned out?
4. Do you want a "normal" life (i.e. getting married, buying a house in suburbs, mowing the lawn, having kids...)?

1. Not so much, but I at least still went through the standard "path" of education here. Finished college and all.

2. I'm almost 30 now, and I have never been in a relationship, for one. I also have had more trios out of the country than my typical peers. I guess being raised in a single parent home and having seen major parental dispute would have counted, but it's becoming more and more common it seems. Also, I'm a foreigner who has spent pretty much double his years on this country than his native one, so that counts?

3. When I was young, I was fully expecting myself to have a full time corporate job as a coder/programmer by this time. Ended up juggling like 3 part time jobs and dabbling on random stuff like drawing and writing. I don't regret how my life turned out one bit.

4. No. I have no intention of getting a family or having kids. I also plan to make a living out of my hobbies and interests instead of the usual corporate path here. Then again, life can be unpredictable so who knows.

 

[Yorda]

1. How "normal" has your life been so far?
Nope.

2. In what ways has your life deviated from "normal"?
I don't see my house coming anytime soon.

3. In what ways has your life deviated from what you expected/imagined? Are you happy with the ways thing turned out?
After taking one look at that chart I noticed the immediate lack of any significant milestones after First Child and Buy House. It's probably a good thing if I deviate from that trajectory.

4. Do you want a "normal" life (i.e. getting married, buying a house in suburbs, mowing the lawn, having kids...)?
A child would be nice. I need to pass on my villainy and they will mow my lawn.

 

[OkuraTsukiko]

1. How "normal" has your life been so far?

Well, I'm still on a proper education path. I'm going to sign up for college in a few months.

2. In what ways has your life deviated from "normal"?

Never had myself a first kiss, nor a committed relationship. How would the 15 yo me even achieve that?

3. In what ways has your life deviated from what you expected/imagined? Are you happy with the ways thing turned out?

I tend to just go with the flow, what I expected nor what I imagined isn't the most important thing for me to visualize live. Since I'm an introvert isolated in my room as I write, draw, binge-watch anime, play games with my betta fishes as roommates... Yeah, don't regret it one bit. Although I'm still wary about how my head goes around problems sometimes. Could be pretty ugly.

4. Do you want a "normal" life (i.e. getting married, buying a house in suburbs, mowing the lawn, having kids...)?

Getting married? I would like to, but I'm not planning any kiddos in my household.

 

[Leti]

1. How "normal" has your life been so far?

As normal as it can be. No idea how.

2. In what ways has your life deviated from "normal"?

I performed social distancing before it was cool. Every ways lead to Roma.

3. In what ways has your life deviated from what you expected/imagined? Are you happy with the ways thing turned out?

I'm both happy and sad at the same time. Surviving this year is more than what I expected.

4. Do you want a "normal" life (i.e. getting married, buying a house in suburbs, mowing the lawn, having kids...)?

No marriage. No kids. This bloodline end with me.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Never bought a car and never plan to buy a car.
Got engaged at 28 and married at 29, having first child over 30 . . .
My ex (2009-2014) slowed me down on progressing with those last few things.
Buying a house isn't a priority since I'm an only child and obviously going to inherit my parents' place.

 

[yansusustories]

I feel like being aro-ace screwed me over royally in this one since half of the points seem to be related to relationships? Like, among the things people in my age group with a normal life should have done first kiss, first SO, saying I Love You, moving in together, getting engaged, married, and having a baby all fall flat. So I guess my life isn't quite normal in that regard.

As for the other stuff ... I was slightly late with going abroad (maybe 17-18?). I did attend university though and moved out of my parent's place for that, although I moved back in halfway through because it was just the financially more plausible decision (that did mean I needed a long ass time to get to my lectures though ). I still don't have a car even though I made my driver's license almost ten years ago. It just never made sense. Back when I attended uni, I always went by public transportation, and the city I currently live in is small enough that I can do everything on foot. If I can't ... well, guess I'd either ask somebody to drive me or borrow a car for it. As for a job, I worked part-time in university, and when I finished, I became a freelancer so I guess I could say I reached that life event albeit in what might not be the most traditional way either.

I am absolutely happy with how everything turned out. While I wouldn't mind having a relationship either, it's unlikely to happen with my orientation so I'd rather focus on my work. That's more than enough for me.

 

[minacia]

1. How "normal" has your life been so far?
Textbook normal..... I'm boring. I rode the escalator in a sense.

2. In what ways has your life deviated from "normal"?
I had a crisis in university regarding LGBT things, and some cheating / mental health stuff, but that was about it. I've been in the same relationship since I was 18 (my childhood friend), which is fairly unusual in the sense that I never "dated" normally after high school. I've been "taken" for so many years (a lot of it LDR too)... I've only ever shared a kiss with one person! It's not a perfect relationship, but we've been together for so long that I feel like we're co-dependent... being apart hurts too much.

3. In what ways has your life deviated from what you expected/imagined? Are you happy with the ways thing turned out?
I'm happy the way things are right now (I think). Career wise, I'm in a good place, but I have a lot of insecurities about a lot of things.

4. Do you want a "normal" life (i.e. getting married, buying a house in suburbs, mowing the lawn, having kids...)?
Sometimes I do, but other times I don't... I'm weird. A lot of those milestones actually give me a bit of anxiety.