They say it's never too late to try new experiences in life. But to what extent is that actually true?
There are exceptions for some people, of course, but I think I missed the window of learning how to skateboard in my wisened years. I'd like to keep my knee cap intact, please.
Curious to hear about all the coulda, shoulda, wouldas from strangers on the internet, Redditor Eddings_06 asked:
"For the adult users of Reddit: What is something you regret not doing while you were young, that you wish you did when looking back?"
Not all responses involved physical activity.
If only these Redditors embraced the power of knowledge when they were younger...
Intellectual Growth
"Wish I had taken education more seriously, and protected my creativity from the opinions of others, cause in the final day, noone else cares."
– skaote
Being More Inquisitive
"I wish I took actual education more seriously - rather than the game of education."
"Things have generally worked out pretty well for me school / career wise but I definitely approached it all as a challenge to win rather than really a learning experience."
"I think I'm still pretty smart (I hope) but especially once I got to college, what I struggled with most was the next-level thought. I struggled a lot in seminar courses where you just roundtable discussed because I just felt like I had no input. I read the assigned text. I could tell you whatever you needed to know about the assigned text but I hadn't learned how to really take in the information and *make* something of it. Even studying, I always did fine on most exams but it literally wasn't until my senior year of college where I studied with someone in a way that was just more than re-read your notes and regurgitate what you memorised and took the exam and thought like, 'holy sh*t - this is what it means to fully understand.'"
"Also an environment in which you're implied to need to show no weakness to be competitive. So I have a huge aversion to asking questions. It's not that I'm shy but I just don't have questions. If I don't understand something factually, I'll look it up later. Which was also a huge loss in college re: office hours or again seminars. I wasn't scared to ask or anything, I just didn't think I had any questions that I didn't think I could answer on my own. I didn't have that curiosity or next-step thought that my peers had."
"And that set-back I think still follows me now. I find I'm still less 'questioning' about stuff."
Communication Expansion
"Learning more languages / technical skills when my brain was still fresh."
Taking better care of their bodies sooner was something these people regretted not doing.
Eating Habits
"Also, a healthy diet. 'I can eat junk food and drink cola and booze all the time without getting fat! Guess I just have amazing genes lol.' Flash forward 10 years later and my doctor tells me to lose weight before it's getting dangerous. It's incredibly hard to change your habits after not giving a f'k for most of your life."
Improved Regimen
"Yeah, I had almost no clue how to work out until I was in my mid 20s. I love working out now and do it almost every day but I get depressed knowing how far behind I am on my physical fitness and how much I've missed out. But I just did not have it in me to care or know how to put in the effort to lift weights."
Starting to secure your financial future early in life would definitely pay off in dividends.
"Investing money instead of spending it on stupid sh*t that I no longer have anyway."
Establishing Credit
"Build my credit. At 25 I still don't really have credit. So many things I could do if I would have just built it."
Get That Credit Card
"I wish I could go back to like 16 with a credit card. Be smart and buy a pack of gum or something small and pay it back right away."
"When I was car shopping for the first time, they told me my low credit time and no car history meant I need to pay 5%."
"If I ever have kids, I'll make sure they do that."
My friends are generally impressed I'm bilingual. I'm also fluent in Japanese, although my communication skills have waned over the years as I don't get to practice much beyond everyday casual discourse with my immediate family.
My biggest regret is not working hard enough to have become tri-lingual. I loved learning French in middle school and high school. It's a beautiful language, but I kept making excuses not to practice it when I graduated.
I've forgotten most of it, and getting back on that horse at this point, is an insurmountable task. Quel dommage.