So…Klaus on a massacre/rampage and her biggest concern is being 17 for eternity? 

Caroline’s trying to hold on to her human life, shield herself from the craziness of the Original family. She needs it to stay sane. The problem is, she isn’t even human, so what’s left for her? Giving up the remains of her human life is equal to becoming a helpless victim of fate, while she wants to make some memories. Take charge of the situation. And, it turns out, this choice has been taken away from her, and for Caroline there’s no such thing as normalcy. She can’t become the person she always wanted to be, because once again she lost the battle with the supernatural world. Hence the existential crisis. She’s powerless, and it will never change, because she can’t run away from Klaus and herself.

It’s really admirable how she tries to maintain control over her life, and tries to make the best out of the situation, but sometimes the way she reacts to adverse situations (particularly those that happen to her friends) can be borderline insensitive. 

My main complaint about her character is how her priorities are so noticeably out of sync with everyone else’s, and has been since midway through last season. 

Take last year’s ritual, for example. Everyone is either fighting for their lives or sacrificing themselves to save the lives of their loved ones. 

Meanwhile she and Matt hang out at the Lockwood mansion, complain about how hard their lives are, have an underwhelming break up, and then she engages in naked snuggles with Tyler. It’s one thing to be optimistic, it’s another to close your eyes to everything, plug your fingers in your ears and go ‘la la la’ in the midst of catastrophes. 

See, your suggestion would have been perfect! Caroline and Stefan already have such a wonderfully built up friendship, and it would have been nice to see her help him with his HB addiction as a return for him helping her with her transition into a vampire

Caroline should so have a Katherine phase, where she kills people and doesntcare about the consequences, now that would an 18 birthday to remember.

I agree. Caroline does seem kind of frivolous. She wants everyone to move on from traumatic events immediately after they happen. She made Jeremy and Elena go picnic after all of their guardians died and a horrific ritual sacrifice happened, she wanted everyone to participate in senior prank night shortly after being tortured by her own father and everything else that happened before, and her boyfriend was killed, sired, and is now a hybrid Klaus devotee, but you know, it’s important homecoming happens. She means well, though.  When she first turned vampire, it was so refreshing to see her own her vampirism and be compassionate and brave while doing it. I know they want to portray her as a strong female, but it’s a bit too much. Add some compassion and it would give her strength a lot more meaning.