Things you wish you would have done/done differently

[Sabine]

I''m sure we all try to live with as little regrets as possible, but to have NO regrets seems highly impossible.

What regrets do you have, whether little or large?

The only one I can think of right now is that I really regret not keeping a list of all the books I''ve read. I wish I would have because, well, it definitely would be impressive to look at now since I''ve probably averaged 1 book every 2 weeks or so since 9th grade, and also because I often forget what books I''ve read and what they''re about. I remember when the movie "Love in the time of Cholera" came out, I put in a request at the library for the book since it was checked out, but there were lots of people in front of me for it. After I finally got the book after waiting for weeks, I realized I had already read it!

 

[zoebartlett]

Sometimes I regret not being more of a ''go with the flow'' kind of person. I like having plans and I''m not too spontaneous. To give one example, every weekend I always ask my husband what he wants to do, but he always says the same thing: "I don''t know, we''ll see." He wants to relax around the house on the weekends and if something else comes along, great. If not, well, he will have had a nice relaxing weekend. I''m the opposite -- always looking for something to do. Somehow we balance it out though, and we do enjoy our weekends.

I guess the other thing that kind of relates to going with the flow is that I hate change (I wish I didn''t -- it would make life so much easier at times). There have been a lot of changes for us in the past year or so, and it''s been a LOT to take in and deal with. I guess I wish I accepted change more easily than I do.

 

[miraclesrule]

I regret not having more children. I would have loved to have at least three.

 

[Maisie]

I regret marrying my husband. I knew it was wrong but went ahead anyway.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 11/15/2009 2:45:54 PM
Author: Maisie
I regret marrying my husband. I knew it was wrong but went ahead anyway.

*hugs*

I regret wasting so much time with other guys before I met my husband. I knew that they weren''t the right guy for me, yet I continued on because I was tired of being alone. I wish I hadn''t been so afraid to just be me.

 

[oddoneout]

Date: 11/15/2009 2:55:16 PM
Author: MonkeyPie

Date: 11/15/2009 2:45:54 PM

Author: Maisie

I regret marrying my husband. I knew it was wrong but went ahead anyway.

Hugs from me too!


*hugs*

I regret wasting so much time with other guys before I met my husband. I knew that they weren''t the right guy for me, yet I continued on because I was tired of being alone. I wish I hadn''t been so afraid to just be me.

 

[Haven]

I regret being so mean to my sister when we were younger. I wish I could take that back more than anything.

Big hugs to you, Maisie dear.

Sabine--You should totally check out goodreads.com. You can make a list of everything you''ve read, and keep track of what you plan to read in the future. It''s a great website, I love it.

 

[Sabine]

Date: 11/15/2009 4:30:55 PM
Author: Haven



Sabine--You should totally check out goodreads.com. You can make a list of everything you''ve read, and keep track of what you plan to read in the future. It''s a great website, I love it.

Haven, I''m on that site...but as silly as this is, I don''t update it because I''m "friends" with a lot of my former teacher colleagues and I''m embarrassed to list how much "junk fiction" I tend to read...this past month I read "The Road" for a bookclub, but then 5 James Patterson books!

 

[Cehrabehra]

I only have one real regret, and it''s probably too personal to post here. If I could go back and do it over, I would in a heartbeat. There are options now that I didn''t know where available at the time which greatly influenced my decision.

 

[4ever]

I regret being too afraid to ask for help or tell someone I was depressed when I was a teenager. Life is to short to be misserable all the time and I often think about just how many years I wasted being sad and wanting to die.

 

[packrat]

I wish I''d been w/my MIL''s dog when she was put down Friday. She used to be our dog, and regardless, she was a good dog..and she was alone. That makes me sad.

I wish I''d been able to tell my Grampa I love him and good bye, before he died.

My husband regrets that he didn''t go on to college after high school. He can''t be promoted to certain jobs where he works w/out a degree, even tho he''s worked there for years and could do all the jobs in his sleep. It''s frustrating that someone with a degree in Fashion Design could be hired off the street to run a packing house, while he can''t.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 11/15/2009 12:27:58 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
Sometimes I regret not being more of a ''go with the flow'' kind of person. I like having plans and I''m not too spontaneous. To give one example, every weekend I always ask my husband what he wants to do, but he always says the same thing: ''I don''t know, we''ll see.'' He wants to relax around the house on the weekends and if something else comes along, great. If not, well, he will have had a nice relaxing weekend. I''m the opposite -- always looking for something to do. Somehow we balance it out though, and we do enjoy our weekends.


I guess the other thing that kind of relates to going with the flow is that I hate change (I wish I didn''t -- it would make life so much easier at times). There have been a lot of changes for us in the past year or so, and it''s been a LOT to take in and deal with. I guess I wish I accepted change more easily than I do.

If you ever feel like getting a crash course in adaptability - accept an expat assignment! I have always been reluctant to change... what took a week to adjust to was narrowed down to a day and now is about 5 minutes. Seriously. I am getting sea legs! And really, I wasn''t like this by nature! lol

 

[allycat0303]

I regret not travelling more. I had a deathly fear of plane, and two weeks ago made my first real trip. I''m turning 30 in a few months and I feel like I missed out on seeing the world. I wish I had back packed through Europe as most of my 20 year old friends did. I always feel less cultured and less knowledgeable then everyone else when it comes to having experienced the world.

 

[iheartscience]

Hmm...I don''t have any big regrets, actually. Sometimes I sort of wish I would have graduated from college when I was supposed to instead of at age 27, but then I very likely wouldn''t have had my previous job as a buyer, which was something I always wanted to do. Plus if I had graduated on time, maybe I wouldn''t have gotten into my current career path, which I think I''ll be in for a long time. I guess I wouldn''t say I wish I graduated on time, actually-more like I just think about where I''d be if I had graduated on time.

Another thing I sometimes think about is not playing field hockey in college. I was really good but when you play sports for a Division I school all you do is practice, so I decided not to play. But I think it worked out for the best because I travelled a TON when I was in college the first time and really had an awesome time.

I really do believe the saying "Everything happens for a reason" is true. (As far as life choices go-it definitely does not apply to everything!)

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

As sad as this is, I kind of wish I hadn''t gone to law school. I''m just so not inspired about anything I''m studying, and I''m really not looking forward to decades of working in this field. The only great thing about law school is that I met BF here, but I wish I had thought about it more. I really wanted to do a PhD program in Early-Modern British Literature and chose not to because of the dismal job prospects, etc. It''s ironic that I chose law school BECAUSE of better job prospects and now the economy has pretty much screwed a lot of law students over. Ugh.

 

[luckystar112]

2 regrets:

Although I met my husband here, I really wish I never would have moved to Texas. I feel very "stuck" here, since the cost of living is so low compared to everywhere else. It eats at me every. single. day.

My second regret is that I wish I would have gone to college right after high school. Like thing2, I''ll be a 27 year old graduate. Sigh. I honestly don''t believe I was ready for college at that time, but putting it off has REALLY held me back in life. It kind of goes back to regret #1, because if I was contributing financially we''d be able to save up some money and get out of here faster.

 

[Lilac]

When I was 16 I met this guy who basically took advantage of the fact that I was young and innocent and despite the fact that we barely knew each other, he kissed me and I didn''t stop him before he was able to (even though I knew he might do it). I let it happen and I will always regret that. That was my first kiss. I met my husband 2 weeks later and I always wish my first kiss had been with him rather than with this other guy who was practically a stranger. Even now when I think of my "first kiss" I automatically think of my first kiss with my husband (when I was 16 and he was 17) but then it comes back to me that I did have one awful kiss before that - and I always feel some pangs of regret.

I regret not going on a trip with my girlfriends before I got married. We were supposed to go away together, but with all the wedding planning I thought it would be too stressful, so I didn''t end up going, and I do wish I had gone for a couple days with them.

I regret not making more of an effort to be close to my father as I grew up. My parents got divorced when I was very young (2 years old) and as I grew up I saw my father once or twice a month and I always backed out of going on trips with him or going away with him for the weekend because I was homesick and missed my mom. Looking back I really regret not bonding with him more and spending more time with him - he always made the effort, but I was the one who didn''t as much as I should''ve. I do try and see him more now, but it''s very different now that I''m older and married - and I really wish I could have some of those years back to do things just the two of us and become closer.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 11/15/2009 9:06:46 PM
Author: Lilac
When I was 16 I met this guy who basically took advantage of the fact that I was young and innocent and despite the fact that we barely knew each other, he kissed me and I didn''t stop him before he was able to (even though I knew he might do it). I let it happen and I will always regret that. That was my first kiss. I met my husband 2 weeks later and I always wish my first kiss had been with him rather than with this other guy who was practically a stranger. Even now when I think of my ''first kiss'' I automatically think of my first kiss with my husband (when I was 16 and he was 17) but then it comes back to me that I did have one awful kiss before that - and I always feel some pangs of regret.

so was i.

 

[Haven]

Thing! We have one more thing in common. In addition to our height and our husbands'' heights, we both played field hockey.
I LOVED it! But I also only played in HS.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 11/15/2009 10:50:31 PM
Author: Haven
Thing! We have one more thing in common. In addition to our height and our husbands'' heights, we both played field hockey.

I LOVED it! But I also only played in HS.

Ha-we are basically soul mates!

I played goalie-what position were you? I actually only played through high school, too, but I sometimes wish I played in college! I also did Futures which is the US Field Hockey olympic development program. There''s an adult league in my area but I don''t really want to invest in all the goalie equipment just to play once a week...plus I''d probably be terrible these days since I haven''t played in 10 years! I play a lot of soccer instead but I do miss field hockey!

 

[Cind11]

My biggest regret is probably my college major. I have never done anything with it and would never choose it today. I wish you didn''t have to pick a major when you are only 18 years old because many people have no clue at that age who they are let alone what they want to do with the rest of their lives.

 

[Haven]

Thing--My position was left wing, but sometimes I played sweeper. I''m definitely a better forward though, I always felt so much pressure when I played sweeper!

I was the only one on my HS team who wasn''t also a soccer player, so I always had soccer envy when their season rolled around. I never played soccer, though, so there was no way I had a shot of ever making the team.

I would probably get my rear handed to me if I tried to play today, it''s been over a decade since I last played. I''ll tell you, though, my quads have never looked better than they did during my field hockey days!

 

[that_someone_special]

I wish I would''ve gone for my masters right after I got my Bachelors. I feel I''ll never do it now.

I also regret the school I went to. *shrug*

 

[steph72276]

I wish I would have finished my master''s degree right after my bachelor''s. I WILL do it, but it will be quite a different experience trying to finish with 2 babies and a husband!

 

[bee*]

Add me to the list of people who wish they graduated earlier in what they want to do. I''m thrilled that I got into veterinary, but I''m not going to graduate until I''m 30 and I hate not earning a full time wage and not being able to save any money.
I also regret not going down to my grannies house the night before she had her stroke. I was meant to go down with my dad one night but I didn''t hear him leave and then the next day she had her stroke.

 

[dragonfly411]

I regret dropping riding lessons

I regret letting go of my Menes daughter... she was way cool

I regret not telling SO''s dad that he was one of the coolest people I''ve ever known

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I have many small regrets, but my biggest regret is probably spending so much on my college education. I knew my family would never be able to afford college, but I was really stuck on one particular college because of a specific program they offered. It was a private school with a private school pricetag, so I applied for every scholarship I could and got about half of my college education paid for that way. I also decided to get a full time job in college so I could live off-campus and save myself money. I still went into some hefty debt for tuition and I feel like I started my life out in the hole because of a decision I made when I was 18. I wish I''d gone to a state school and paid my way through because nobody cares where you go to school after you graduate and gain some experience.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 11/16/2009 1:36:06 AM
Author: Haven
Thing--My position was left wing, but sometimes I played sweeper. I'm definitely a better forward though, I always felt so much pressure when I played sweeper!

I was the only one on my HS team who wasn't also a soccer player, so I always had soccer envy when their season rolled around. I never played soccer, though, so there was no way I had a shot of ever making the team.

I would probably get my rear handed to me if I tried to play today, it's been over a decade since I last played. I'll tell you, though, my quads have never looked better than they did during my field hockey days!

Hahaha I seriously still dream of those quads...mine were INSANE from the goalie pads. Ahhhh to have my 17 year old body again! Something tells me I'll never work out 2-3 hours a day, 6 days a week ever again though! And my twin sis was also a wing...she loved it, too! My quads were better though-those goalie pads were heavy!

 

[Lauren8211]

Taking so long to finish school. Wasted a lot of money.

Not travelling more when I was younger/single.

Not learning another language.

 

[Octavia]

Date: 11/15/2009 7:23:55 PM
Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl
As sad as this is, I kind of wish I hadn''t gone to law school. I''m just so not inspired about anything I''m studying, and I''m really not looking forward to decades of working in this field.

Ohhhh, ditto this. I wish I''d done ANYTHING else with my life other than going to law school. It has sucked my soul out, and I don''t want to be a lawyer either. I wish I''d been able to enjoy the academic part of it, since some of my classes have been interesting despite the fact that I don''t want to practice in those areas, but unfortunately the constant emphasis on jobs (of which there are none right now) makes the whole thing miserable. The only good thing is that, if there are no legal jobs available, I might be more likely to end up in a job I''ll like rather than one I''d hate forever. I just don''t know what that magic job is...hopefully I''ll find it and not be back here in a couple years with more career-related regrets.