31 People Reveal What They Seriously Regret the Most in Life

Trista - January 31, 2022
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31 People Reveal What They Seriously Regret the Most in Life

Do you ever say something and then instantly regret it? You will probably learn to think before you speak. On the other hand, you could be the type of person to live life screaming, “No regrets!” (Does it make you think of a tattoo that says ‘no regrets,’ but the artist actually spelled it wrong? How ironic!) Anyway, if you are living la vida loco, you could be very young and just unwise to what (and who) is really important around you. Maybe with age, you can have some wisdom about planning for the future rather than just living in the moment. Sure, it is still all good to carpe diem! And seize the day to make it yours. However, regrets often come when you least expect them. Sometimes, after years of feeling fine about a decision, a flood of guilt can take over. Here is a list of Redditors who share solemn regrets they have to live with for the rest of their lives. Hopefully, if you do have regrets, they aren’t this serious.

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31. The Last Phone Call With Dad

As teenagers, we tend to give attention to other things, running away from emotional bonding with our parents. But as adults, we learn how precious that time actually was and how bad we would give anything to have that chance back. MimiLaSardine shares her last call with her dad. And by last, sadly, we mean that final phone call before he passed away. If she would have known it was the final time she could speak with her father, she would have said something more meaningful — or at least stayed on the phone more than a second. She writes, “My dad worked abroad a lot. One night he called home, and I answered the phone. He was obviously feeling a bit lonely being away from his family and was struggling to hold back the tears as he told me that he missed my older brother and me.

Me being my 14-year-old self, couldn’t get off the phone quick enough, TV to watch, friends to call, or something equally as unimportant. Just dad being lame. He died a few days later from a heart attack. Alone. In another country. Away from his family. That was the last time I spoke to him. Now, I wish that phone call could have lasted forever.” No matter how long it has been, you always tend to miss your parents. So while you still have the chance, stay in touch with your parents.

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30. Remembering Your Parents

ccguy shares, “You were young. Youth excuses so many things. On New Year’s Day, when I was 12, my mom and dad were out. Mom called home, I answered, and I got a little testy with her. I don’t even remember what it was about. We hung up in a huff. She died in a car accident on the way home. We were young. I still kind of carry the guilt of our last talk. And became very independent. Losing a mom at that age makes you grow up quickly and learn to live without a mother’s love.

In the years since I’ve known several people who say they feel sorry for me for not having a mom in my later childhood. No need to feel sorry. I don’t know any other way. I’ll bet MimiLaSardine can relate after losing a dad.” Losing parents in your teens really matures you quicker than others. You become independent and start to look after yourself and your needs. However, it is hard to ever find motherly love again. And no, not all of these regret stories from Reddit deal with dying parents. Some are about long lost friendships going sour, like the next one.

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29. Regrets About A Long Lost Friend

SirLancelotOfCamelot writes, “I regret not taking the initiative to keep in touch with a girl that could possibly have become my best friend. We went to the same high school. After high school, most people went to university (almost all to the same one). Since studying was important to me, I focused very hard on it, making new friends along the way, but losing some from high school (including her). In the next three years, I only saw her seven times in total, mostly in totally random places in the city (where the university is located, not home).

My grades were very well. Then one day, I heard she had collapsed when walking to her class two weeks before and died in the hospital ten days later. Three days after I heard this, it was her funeral. I always figured that after my studies, I would take up contact again with her, but that suddenly wasn’t possible anymore. I still regret to this day that I didn’t keep in touch with my friends during the first three years of my studies, and in particular that one since I fixed the rest.”

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28. A Missed Apology Can Cause Regret

kittymiau describes her regret of leaving a friend, but with a much more permanent consequence. She shares her story saying, “I was too lazy to stay in contact with a friend who was far too awesome to be my friend anyway, and I didn’t even manage to congratulate her for getting married and finally getting a prettier last name. (We had a joke that we should form a club for people with ugly last names that start with T.)

“On January 13th, she went missing, and last week, her body was found at a beach where it had drifted during the winter. People, stay in touch with your friends. It takes like ten seconds to write a message on Facebook or to pick up the damn phone.” You never know when you are talking to a friend or family member for the last time. These moments can literally make or break us. Do not forget to be kind. That goes double if you have someone in your life that you lost too soon, especially if you felt like you could have done something to change it.

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27. Regretting Bad Hygiene

GiantEnemyMatt shares, “I regret not taking better care of my teeth. I’m having tooth pain and have a loose tooth in the front of my mouth, and my job doesn’t offer dental insurance. To get my teeth fixed, it would cost me $3200, which I don’t have. I’m so stressed out and at a loss on how to fix this. Money is tight; it has always been tight because I have a crappy job and don’t make a lot of it. I’m 22 and really don’t want to go through life missing a tooth in the front of my mouth. I have enough self-esteem issues as it is. I have no idea what to do, and I hate this.”

People came to his rescue, suggesting he should go to a nearby dental school to make things easier for him. Nevertheless, it can be a time taking process, so he refreshed the thread explaining, “Just an update. I just called them and was told they’d set me up with a consultation and an exam. Since I already have X-Rays, it’ll be cheaper than $100, and they offer payment plans that aren’t credit-based. She said it would take a couple of weeks due to the doctor that handles these things being out of town, but it’s a start. Thanks for that bit of advice.”

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26. Not Taking Better Care Of Your Health Will Cause Regrets

Yourfriendjames got on the same thread sharing his own regrets of not staying healthy in his 20s. He begins with Steve Jobs saying, “Steve Jobs has been quoted saying that from ages 0-30, you make your habits, and from 30 on, your habits make you. This has generally been true for me so far, but I do wish I would have developed a few better habits.

“For example, I wish I had taken better care of myself in my 20s. Dropping those pounds in my thirties is tough, not just physiologically, but because I generally have less free time.” Many people commented that he can still lose weight with an efficient routine rather than effort-based exercises. Yet, this person says that it would have been better if he had taken a little care from the beginning. Now it just requires more time, energy, and money. Make those healthy changes today! That way, you can avoid having regrets, especially about your healthy as you grow older.

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25. Don’t Ignore Those Red Flags

wynnduffyisking knows now that you should not ignore the red flags in a relationship. Even if those red flags come in the shape of hearts! “Spending too much time and energy on a relationship I knew was doomed to fail and then spending too much time and energy on mourning the failure of said relationship. Edit: wow, three golds (my first gold!). I had no idea it would blow up like that, but it’s kinda good to know that I’m not the only one to have that regret.

To answer your questions: the relationship was fun and exciting, but international long-distance relationships rarely last, which I was too stubborn and in love to realize. Finally, the problems caught up with my denial, and the relationship went crap side up, and we haven’t talked since. There is, in my opinion, no way to not mourn the death of a meaningful relationship and no quick fix to how much a breakup hurts. But my advice is to try to keep living and don’t wallow in it – time flies when you are feeling sorry for yourself. (Also, think twice before you get involved in a long-distance relationship).”

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24. Say Goodbye To Toxic Relationships Before It Is Too Late

Cameltoenail shares an experience about how sometimes we are the problem in our relationships. It is only after that the relationship ends that we realize how toxic our behaviors are. “Some of the ways I treated people I dated or was in a relationship with. I was doing a lot of growth in finding myself at that time, and unfortunately, it was at the expense of others. I wish I was more mature in having adult conversations about why the relationship wasn’t working instead of becoming so distant that it ended.

It often manifested in them blaming themselves or creating insecurity, and I so badly wish I could reach out to some of my first girlfriends and tell them how much I learned from them and that I appreciated our time together.” It is nice to be appreciated for your time and efforts, but it matters most when you are still together and trying to make it work as a team. Rest assured, it is really mature to understand your actions and how things turned out incorrect because of your own inconsistencies.

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23. Not Following The Signs

Anwhaz writes, “I followed around a girl, not really knowing or caring what I wanted to do with my life. All I got out of it was an extremely sour breakup, more student loan debt than I needed, and a year of my life wasted doing nothing but drinking, feeling sorry for myself, and playing video games. While it sucked, and I could have been better off if I saw the signs (literally all my friends and relatives were telling me to gtfo the relationship), it has had some positive effects.

I stopped lying (which was one of the many issues we both had) to the point where I rarely even throw out white lies, I stopped giving a damn about what other people think (to a point, I just don’t really let others dictate my life while remaining open to opinions) and I found a subject I’m extremely interested in. People have to make their own mistakes, and no matter how much you prepare or research, you’re going to mess up in your 20s. (Heck, I’ve messed up in my 30s, it happens). You just gotta figure out what works and what doesn’t and let that help you become a better person. The short and skinny advice is don’t lie (even if it might suck or hurt someone), do what YOU want to do, because you never know when someone else might leave your life, and if you mess up, just use your head to figure out what went wrong and try to fix it so that mess doesn’t happen again.”

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22. Regrets About Partying

When it comes to wisdom, goatywizard shares his account of being young with regrets. “Drinking/partying too much instead of working on my money management skills. I didn’t really start saving until I was 24 or 25 – even if I put away $50 a pay period through college, I could have had a nice little lump sum to start with or had a chance to travel somewhere interesting. Luckily starting when I did wasn’t too bad, and I had the chance to travel and save enough for a modest down payment.

Also, not losing weight sooner. I spent my life being somewhere from chubby to fat and hated myself. So, I told myself it was my thyroid because my best friend was so skinny and ate and drank with me too. Then, I finally realized one day that it wasn’t because Steph had a great metabolism. It’s because she stopped eating when she was full and walked everywhere she went. So, I overhauled my diet and started trying new and different physical activities, and lost 50 pounds. I actually liked myself for the first time at 28! My regret? I wish I had focused on that sooner. Not just for vanity, but overall health as well.”

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21. An Impression Gone Wrong

StrangePondWoman shares her story of trying to impress her friends, only to know better in the end. “It’s a common trope, but living to impress my friends and their expectations of me versus pushing myself to be better. Every weekend, and some weekdays, we were partying, drinking to excess, smoking tons of weed, talking crap about the ‘establishment’ and ‘normal people. I stayed in the anime club for years after I stopped actually liking anime and tried to conform to the beliefs of the very non-conservative people I was surrounded by. I’m a heavy woman, and whenever I would talk about losing weight or changing my habits, the group would tell me I needed to be body positive and embrace my curves.

My friends were all kind, loving, great people to hang out with, and none of them ever did me seriously wrong, but I never felt completely part of their group, or like we would be lifelong friends. It turns out when I’m honest with myself, I’m pretty comfortably mainstream, and that’s okay. I’m in a happily monogamous relationship, and we’re about to buy our first house. I have a great office job in a very specified field. I play the same three video games I like, go see movies in the theater, listen to music on the radio, go to the gym a few times a week, and I’m happier than I ever was in my 20’s trying to be an interesting person.”

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20. A 20-Year-Old Explains Ways To Avoid More Regret

Life choices and lifestyle really matter. uiemad shares that even though he is in his late twenties, there are things he regrets and cannot change now; however, he hopes to get better and find solutions rather than sitting back. “I’m at the end of my 20’s but whatever. When I lived at home, I spent all my money willy nilly. Now that I’m on my own and have bills, it’s much harder to save.” He also adds, “Not traveling [is a regret]. I traveled abroad by myself a year ago. It was my first time out of the U.S. It drastically altered my view on life, and now I want to travel everywhere, but it’s hard to get time from my office job.

Finally, this user explains another regret, which some people may find uncommon. “Going to a video game school is a regret. Just don’t do it. For the most part, all anyone cares about is your portfolio anyway, so the degree is more or less pointless.” Practice and preparation at the right time bring contentment within your life ahead. For smooth sailing into the future, you need to outline how you see your life evolving and adjust accordingly. Not saying going to college is a bad thing, at all! Just make sure you know what to do with that degree, and how to impress potential employers with your further education.

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19. Regrets Regarding Money And Friendships

Redditor twegee shares her own set of regrets that could have made her life different today. The way you care for yourself and others will come back to you later in life. Often, when people hit their mid-30s, they realize how much money they could have had if they just planned better and spent a bit wiser. “I always say humans would live to be 200 years old if it wasn’t for the self-destructive crap we do in our 20s. That being said, I’m 36 now and wish I would have buckled down, saved my butt off, and practiced FIRE (financial independence retire early). I would be retired by now.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and am in a great place now but having 100% financial independence is where it’s at. There’s a huge advantage in starting to save in your late teens and early 20s. Other than financial, my biggest regret is friendships. I wish I would have made a bigger effort to keep in touch with friends ten years ago. Also, I wish I would have been more myself in making friends. I was a people-pleaser in my 20s. It worked great for having a lot of acquaintances, but not for having deep, meaningful relationships.”

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18. Listening Too Closely To Your Parents Could Lead To Regret

kolaida says that her true potential did not unlock because she listened too much. “I listened to and coddled my mother too much. Finally packed all my things and left, effectively moving 3,000 miles away. And you know what? After two months of paying my own bills and doing my own budget, I thought, ‘Wow! My parents really were holding me back because this is not nearly as bad or nightmarish as everyone claims.’ My mother would say how I’d come crawling back on my knees, begging her to let me move back in. She would say how I’d never be able to make it and should just focus on finding a man to marry.

Well, she was wrong. I’m happily single, a homeowner, makeover 40K (in school to make more), and didn’t even have to marry anyone or beg her to let me move back in. So, yes, I regret listening to my parents. Growing up, you always hear how people regret not listening to their parents. Well, I listened and regretted that.” Well, we are happy that things worked out differently and fortunately for her. Sometimes it is better to go out and test things on your own.

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17. Settling In Life

Have you ever heard of the concept of settling in life? Not settling down, but settling. JackInRainbows had this tough but true realization about his life. “Recently just turned 30. I think the regret would be ‘settling;’ not understanding big parts of my life could be better. It took a bit of a kick of my own self to realize I could be a lot happier if I just control of my own life a bit, rather than just going through the motions.” He had his life set in the twenties; all boxes ticked. But after truly sitting with himself, some big realizations hit him about life.

“It was scary to take that leap, but I made some big changes. I ended a relationship I should have done way, way, sooner. So, I moved back into my parents’ house for about 2-3 months while I started applying for new jobs. I started running and working out. It was a good way for me to clear my head. Before I knew it, within a year, I’d found someone I actually enjoyed being with – we actually are now engaged and due to be married next year. I got a job that I still get so much out of. Now I feel fulfilled at the end of the day, but I also love the people I work with. I took up hobbies I previously wouldn’t even consider. Plus, I got an amazing dog who honestly (bar my girlfriend) is my world.”

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16. Giving Up On Something Important

Sometimes in life, you give up things that are way more valuable than money, just like JoeBarra’s grandfather’s handmade clock. He wrote, “My grandfather was a craftsman. His main income was making and restoring furniture. Some of his pieces were incredible. In his house, he had a beautiful, intricate clock (it had the phases of the moon) that he had built. It was amazing, I always looked at it whenever we visited.

When he died, he gave everything to my cousin (she is a scumbag money pit, so she needed it the most). She promptly threw out all of his belongings and leveled my grandfather’s house (that he built!) … so she could sell it. I wish I had been more on the ball and had asked for that clock. I would have paid for it if my cousin made me. One silver lining is that my dad says that the clock was probably full of lead and mercury.”

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15. Having No Friends

Making lifelong friends was not always on the list for some people. However, with time people realize the importance of at least one good friend. N0_R0B0 says: “I’m only in my thirties for another 17 days or so, but I guess I still qualify. The biggest regret I have from my twenties is that I didn’t develop any long-lasting friendships in college. I had a lot of friends and a ton of acquaintances, but there’s not a single [person I know from my twenties that I still speak with, and I really wish there were.”

Luckily, OrionBell suggests the best thing you can hear: “I’m in my sixties, and I think your regrets are misplaced. This problem sorts itself. Eventually, virtually all of the people you used to know are gone. They die or fade away, or they change to the point where you want nothing to do with them because they are always borrowing money or something. Part of aging is shedding all your old acquaintances and collecting new ones. It’s normal. Just enjoy hanging out with the people who are close to you now, and be nice to them. It’s what really matters.”

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14. Lacking Confidence

Not being confident enough ruins many opportunities coming your way. PantherMoose shares how he would keep himself in check about what he wanted to grow to be a confident man. “Lack of confidence in my 20s was one of my biggest problems and regrets. So many missed opportunities. But it made tremendous bounds in my late 20s when I realized I had to stop worrying about everything/everyone and just do what I really wanted to do.

Whenever I would have those doubts and let those doubts lead me into inaction, I would stop and think to myself. ‘Is this really the man that you wanted to be when you grew up.’ I don’t ever fault myself for failing, but I certainly do for not trying.” It is always a relief to get rid of a habit that inevitably takes away so much from you. While you come to a phase where you know what to do and not question what is going on, hang in there. You will soon learn. Until then, try to take up as much space and as many opportunities as you can.

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13. Staying in a Toxic Relationship Will Become A Regret, Eventually

Toxic friendships are awful Marali87 states how she regrets giving so much of herself into this relationship. “Not standing up firmly against my emotionally abusive close friend. We hear about abusive romantic relationships all the time, especially on Reddit, but the very same dynamics can happen within friendships. It was only when I started reading about emotional abuse that I realized what had been going on with that particular friendship back then. If only I had known sooner. It would have saved me a world of hurt.

I’m okay now! She actually made the decision for me when she friend-dumped me years ago. The unfortunate part was that she had painted me as toxic to the rest of our friend group, so she took all my friends with her. That was a really tough time. I basically had to start over. It did a number on my self-esteem as well. Here’s the funny part, though. Eight years later, and she’s the lonely one, with only one real friend left. Not that I wish for her to be lonely. She had messed up parents, and that messed her up, and I wish the best for her. We sort of kind of made up a couple of years ago, but I still keep her at a healthy distance. I’m stronger and happier now, and I hope you are too!”

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12. Regretting Life Decisions

llcucf80 shares his ultimate regret in life: dropping out of college. It does not work for everyone. “Dropping out of college when I did. I was on track in the early/mid-2000s to graduate with a degree in education. (And I was working briefly as a sub/classroom assistant at a middle school). However, for some foolish reason, I dropped out.

I did eventually go back, but by then, I graduated in 2010 after the economy crashed and all the school districts started laying off. I never did get a full-time teaching position after that. If I had stayed in college and graduated on time, I would have had no issues getting a teaching position when I did. By the time the economy tanked, I would have been high enough up the seniority ladder that I likely wouldn’t have faced a layoff or inability to get a position.”

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11. Losing Time Is A Big Regret For Most

Mayotte says, “It’s a tough question. I turned 31 two months ago. And I don’t have many regrets. However, I wish I had experienced a real relationship in my early twenties, and there are a few moments where I wish I had confronted my problems more directly. I think it’s important to remember that the things we prioritize now are not always the same as the things we prioritized in the past.

It doesn’t make sense to regret things that now-you thinks old-you should have done because old-you didn’t have the same priorities. We change as people, and wishing we had done things differently is sometimes just a reflection of our own progress. My main regret about my twenties is that they’re over.” It is with experience that we learn the importance of certain things, and time sure is one of those. Our past selves did not prioritize what we need now.

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10. Regretting Random Hookups

wtfmolly shares how having too many relationships can be a regretful decision. “This is something that haunts me every day…They loved hearing about my hookup from the night before. They even encouraged it by bringing their single guys friends over. But there was this one guy within our group of friends (who happens to be very good friends with my roommate and comes over almost every day for their workout time wearing these beautiful muscle shirts) that I’ve always had a crush on, but it was something I never acted on. Just because he wasn’t throwing himself at me, I didn’t think he was interested.

A month ago, my roommate came home from a party that my crush was at, and he opened up to her about me. He said that I’m the definition of his dream girl… except for the fact that I’ve slept with all his friends. That was my wake-up call. I haven’t had sex since then in an effort to make up for all the pointless hookups. I haven’t tried to make a move on him because I’m scared he will think that I’m just interested in a hookup. And now I’m afraid that it’s too late because he recently met a really nice girl, and he seems to be really smitten with her. “

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9. Regrets Over Procrastination

AceOfDrafts shares how procrastination affected his education over the years. “Slacking off so much my first couple years of college. I had this newfound freedom, I didn’t have to go to class or do homework, so I frequently didn’t. My GPA after a year was roughly 1. Eventually, I got my crap together, and my GPA over the last two years was ~3.6.

But still, I graduated with a 2.7. If I could do college over again with the maturity and work ethic I have now, I would have graduated with a high GPA from a top 25 engineering school. Real companies would have actually recruited me out of college. Instead, I spent the year after college desperately trying to get my foot in the door anywhere, eventually taking an underpaid position with a small company that had some very unethical business practices and set my career back significantly. Now four years out of engineering school, I make less than my friends who are teachers.”

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8. Regretting The Person You Have Become

NanoNarse explains, “I regret who I’ve become. I’m a person who’s just better off alone. I’m self-centered and narcissistic and have a very hard time developing meaningful relationships. Every time I’ve ever been close to someone, they have learned to hate me within a few years. I have a history of emotionally abusing them. I’m pretty toxic, to be honest. It’s something I’ve tried to change for almost a decade, and I’m making the best out of it. I’m comfortable being alone, and I’m perfectly generous and amiable in casual friendships.

But I also live every day knowing that I’m not a nice person and that the people I care about are better off without me. I’ll live my life on the sidelines, out of harm’s way. I’ll probably always regret that I’m not the person I want to be, no matter how hard I try. But it’s a regret I deserve. I’m okay with that.” Admitting it is the first step. However, it is the acceptance of having narcissistic tendencies that make us wonder if this person can change for the better.

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7. An Indifference Between Siblings

efferton86 regrets disturbing his sister’s inner peace as a child: “When I was younger, I excluded my sister from a lot of things. My mom used to watch me, her and my two cousins (one boy and one girl about the same age) during the summer, and that’s when I was stupid. I think I knew that what I was doing was bad (around 6-8 years old), but I didn’t think of the consequences.

My sister has had it hard, on anxiety meds, doesn’t have many good friends, and I can’t help but feel I had some influence on her now. We’re not really close, never really have been, and I wish we had a better relationship. It’s hard because we really have nothing in common – I’m an engineer, practical thinker; she’s an English major, really into art/spirituality and very emotional.” It is always better to make up for your mistakes. Slowly start reaching out again; hopefully, you will get that lost friendship back.

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6. Regrets and Depression Often Go Hand-In-Hand

Depression is not just a sad face. toiletduckling was way too young to handle his depressed friends. “Friend called me and talked to me about suicide. I thought he was too chicken and just wanted attention because he had pulled this stunt many, many times, and whenever I had gone down to talk to him, and he seemed relatively all right.

I guess he called me at a time when he was at his lowest and bravest while I was very distracted. And I kind of brushed him off and told him to sleep it off for now … We will have a chat about it tomorrow in school. I got a call from his mum hours later, and he had died. I was the last person he called. 16 is too young to die, and I wish I knew how to handle depressed friends when I was 16. All I did most of the time was to distract them with happy or fun things to do, and when they were out of the episode, I would then go back home to continue playing Warcraft 3. Sigh, if I wasn’t so caught up in that game, he would probably still been alive.”

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5. Different Ways Of Handling Depression

masterofcreases shares: “My dad was a structural engineer and a damn good one at that. He drew up plans for a floor that was supposed to hold in upwards of 20,000 pounds for heavy machinery. He was worried that it was going to fail, people would die and that the family would be sued, and he’d be put in jail. Even after he had it inspected, he still had these delusional thoughts. I was 20 and came home at midnight after work, and my dad was watching TV. He kept telling me that we were going to be sued repeatedly, and he couldn’t get it out of his head. I was exhausted from working a 16-hour shift and just wanted to go to sleep.

So I talked with him for maybe 10 minutes and kept telling him that it was fine and nothing was going to happen. Later that morning, he was woken to inform that his father had jumped in front of a train. He was an alcoholic for 30+ years until that year when he quit cold turkey after he was prescribed depression meds and didn’t think anything was wrong with taking them while drinking beer. He had some deep-seated mental problems that he never talked about or had taken care of because he was raised a man never cries or talks about his feelings.”

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4. Regretting An Adoption

my_Favorite_post says, “I regret the adoption of my brother and how he affected my childhood. Because of him, I was denied the opportunity to be a kid. I had to console my parents, defend our home and grow up really fast. Because of him, I was a back burner child who my parents overlooked because my problems were normal and could be handled on their own. I grew up with no self-esteem or confidence, with no friends, and was miserable because all of my parents’ focus was on their son not becoming a serial killer.

Yes, I love my parents, and I know they were doing the best they could with the hand they were dealt, but I am getting more resentful with age as I discover from others what a normal childhood was supposed to be and how far from normal mine was.” He later edits and adds: “On the other hand, what happened in the past is what made me who I am. I wish it had gone differently, but I’m happy with myself now.”

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3. Dealing With Peer Pressure Might Come With Regrets

Peer pressure and social class issues often play a part when we look for our options for work, job, or education. This can lead to missing great opportunities as well. AlmostPerfekt regrets giving in to the social pressure: “Not going to community college before going to a four-year university. In high school, community college is always looked down upon, and it is thought to be for the people who aren’t smart enough to go to a four-year university. The truth is that it’s a smart thing to do, and you can transfer to a four year and graduate on time.

You can also use the time while you’re in community college to complete the majority of your GE’s and figure out what you want to major in.” College is college. You get a degree, and it helps you in life. Do not let anybody tell you any different. Get your education from wherever it is feasible for you. It is still not too late.

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2. Bad Relationship Choices

An anonymous user wrote: “When I was 17, I up and left my dad’s house and went to stay with my mom that summer, all because I got in trouble for something stupid. I let a guy I was dating at the time influence that decision. They never let me come back, and still, to this day, at 21 years old, our relationship is so strained, it’s killing me. Had I never left that day, I’d still have a relationship with my father.”

Upon asking for details, she wrote: “There’s more to the story I ended up getting pregnant that summer. When my dad found out, he was devastated. My mother is severely messed up and addicted to drugs, so I bailed from her house fast. When I tried coming back home, my dad turned me away. The only help he gave me was moving me in with my son’s father. My dad also had a lot of influence from his wife. She HATED me and still does, and I’m sure once I was gone, she did all she could to make sure I stayed gone. She even started packing all my stuff and tossing it outside that weekend.”

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1. Regrets About Being Lazy

json85 says, “I regret getting high and procrastinating through my teens to mid-’20s. I regret not pushing myself to work hard and force myself to become more socially competent. I regret losing my first serious career-building employment. At 26, I learned I have autism, and most expectations of me nearly vanished. My own is still higher than most, yet my brain functions against my own better judgment. I regret not doing something truly real for lack of a better description. It is not too late yet; it is just as improbable.

We all need help realizing ourselves. We all help ourselves in helping others. Just as we see the best path for others and not our selves should we listen to each other on what to do in life. I regret shrugging off whatever advice I was given in life and not doing it. I am fully able to build an empire in whatever field, change the world for the better, and have those who will listen realize reality. Yet here I and most others sit. Procrastinating, many while being high, and functioning against our better judgment. I’d like to say ‘wake up, people,’ but that makes me sound like a ’70s teenage girl hippie. Just be aware of yourself in space and time, please. That is the gift of sentient life.”

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