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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,793 posts, read 58,290,984 times
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College was fine (when I finally had time to attend, long after working for many yrs)
Career / employment was fine.
HS and Jr Hi did the most damage to my academics and attitude (coming to town from a country school)
Nearing the final chapter of life, I regret not being a lot nicer when age 12 - 22. Really rough family / home life during that time (there was none), not as an excuse, but someone sensible and sincere should have sat me down and said.... "Everyone is very valuable and special, and sensitive, treat them with special care. Compliment them, encourage them, support them, make them feel special. (which they are). Make their day a pleasant and meaningful day, regardless of how your day / life / situation is treating you. I really miss many great friendships that 'could-have-been', and grateful for any and all that have-been (and are).
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,793 posts, read 58,290,984 times
Reputation: 46299
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scarlett2
What things do you regret not doing when you were younger and what would you change if you could start again and live your life over? Mine would be not going to college, ...
It's not too late, and college / education is available in a lot of forms.
I finished a masters program AFTER retirement (students thought I was the prof)
I love learning and teaching, but college is VERY different now. So I would personally forget the degree quest, and just enjoy learning each day and sometimes in classes. (Are you able to do that?) Many states offer free audit classes for age 65+, and all kinds of things you can pay for. I like to attend informational lectures from experts in a varieties of fields. I also attend many seminars / yr (usually with college students). Some of the international schools we volunteer at have 80 year old students mixed in with 20 yr olds. It's a nice combo.
Back in '74 when I enlisted in the Navy I was offered a seat in OCS (officer candidate school) and I declined because of a ten year commitment. If I had known what that could have done for me I would have jumped on it in a heartbeat.
I regret jumping into marriage with out opening my eyes wide enough to see what I was doing. All I wanted at age 25 was a husband and a home and I took the first man who asked. I could have been so much happier throughout my life had I waited and met more men. I stuck it out because of the kids whom I loved with all my heart. But I was very unhappy the whole time.
I did have a few regrets that weighed on me over the years and decades. However, over the decades I worked through those. I cannot say I have outstanding regrets right at the moment that have not been laid to rest. I think at a point I just started living more in the moment (or something). Around 25 I noticed that I would envy something someone was doing and I learned that was trying to inform me that I needed to move in that direction. In some ways life turned out better than what I hoped for in my early life. Maybe part of not having so many regrets now is that I just did not have enormous expectations of life from the get go (who knows). Maybe I grew comfortably numb. Generally, I'd have to say that I did not regret things I did not do. My regrets were centered on things that actually happened.
You brought up college and I did regret not going and went back to night school at 29 and finished at 34 and then have worked in my field now 27 years. I wanted to work on my Master's, but, was involved in a disabling accident and so that did not work out. I don't think I would spend the money on it now; but, I will definitely continue learning the rest of my life.
Last edited by Wile E. Coyote; 03-24-2023 at 11:07 PM..
I've never regretted not completing college at all. I managed to make a successful career for myself without it. What I do regret...is saying something to my now deceased wife that might have made her think I was being a jerk.
I've never regretted not completing college at all. I managed to make a successful career for myself without it. What I do regret...is saying something to my now deceased wife that might have made her think I was being a jerk.
I am sure she thought you were being a jerk more than once. So, if she never mentioned it to you before then she was just weighing the pros and cons and deciding to keep silent. I certainly would not worry about that now.
I sometimes regret things like not staying in the Coast Guard for a career or going to college when I was accepted or not taking a job that I was offered when I was 24 that would have put me on a career path with a large international company.
But then if I had done any of those things I never would have met my wife of 48 years and would not have had the mid life career change that turned out pretty well.
So in the end, I guess I'll keep my regrets on the shelf.
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