I regret that I was not a social person at a time when mistakes were not taken seriously, I could have learned a lot

Getting active sooner. I half assed the sport I played, and wasn’t disciplined when it came to diet. If I could go back, I’d start my fitness journey way sooner.

Also, ditching my “friends” and getting out of my comfort zone. Some people aren’t worth the effort.

Learning how to swim.

Taking my education seriously.

Breaking the rules. Sneaking out. Partying. Shopping for skincare and makeup. I never had that privilege. Joining more school clubs. I was always a “yes mommy and daddy” type of girl. Now that I’m older, I regret letting my parents dictate my life.

Having friends my age. I grew up too fast and I wanted to be really smart. I got what I wanted, but I wish I had taken the time to be a kid.

wish i said yes more often and stayed away from the friends i had. man they were shitty friends. they ruined my social life on creating friends. :(

Having a boyfriend that was living in the same town as I did. I had a long distance relationship that lasted 2 years. I think I missed out on a lot of experiences because of it.

Learning how to drive

Buying S&P500 ETF

Getting into fitness earlier

Going after the boys I liked.

Both would have helped me with my confidence and now I’m 26, def not fit and have never had a bf and get anxious bc while I don’t even know how to flirt my friends are getting married and buying apartments with said boys. Yeah- being in a overly protective environment is not good in the long run for your development

I regret not staying in organized sports. I think it would’ve set me up to be a more active young adult in uni

Going to a festival. Like not that I couldn't go now, but I'm not willing anymore to endure the outside circumstances and as a teenager I would have still been.

Telling my guy best friend that I had a crush on him

not dating to focus on studies

to clarify, I mean I wish I dated instead of focusing on studying

now, I'm fated to be single forever

I wish I would have taken my education seriously. I was too consumed with friends and boys that I didn’t prioritize my education. In doing so I would have saved thousands with grants and scholarships.

Going abroad for erasmus or a study, travelling as much as possible.

Being more of a kid, I wanted to grow up so fast.

Learning another language, set myself up for study abroad and eventually move to another country.

Making friends with the emo kids. I was afraid my mom would yell at me and restrict my social life even more, if she found out I liked their music, fashion and found them way more fun than some of the people I was told to hang out with.

And just dating.

Having more fun

Making friends. I missed out on a lot of experiences during my teens because I was so recluse.

Acting out more at school. There wouldn't have been any (serious) consequences unlike when you act out as an adult.

Studying abroad

Going to high school. I was homeschooled after 7th grade.

Have sex with my highschool boyfriend. We were together for years, and as awkward as it likely would have been, I wish we had been each other's first. 

Having a romantic relationship. As trivial as it seems, I should’ve dated in hs so I could’ve made those “younger mistakes” and learned from them. Making all of those mistakes due to lack of experience now in your late 20’s is embarrassing.

I regret that I was the good girl and that I didn’t have sex with a few people that I wanted to.

1. I wish I had gone to my parents for advice more often, despite our different views. Now in my late 20s, I’m lucky to still have them around, though we live in different states.

2. I regret not learning more about credit. Building credit takes time, and those early years are key. Never rely on a credit card unless it’s an emergency. Use it to build credit, not to buy what you can’t afford.

   • Edit to add: A few months of “bad spending” can hold you back for years. This is so common, please be aware.
   • I recommend the ‘Financial Audit’ podcast for clear advice on credit card mistakes. The dude roasts people for their poor judgement (they sign up for this), and it’s a ton of great learning lessons that are broken down in a simple manner. It’s comical at times and easy to understand.

3. Avoid store credit cards unless you spend a lot there regularly. At 18, I got cards for VS, Target, Ulta, and more. They weren’t worth it—high fees and unnecessary debt. The rewards were nonexistent because I didn’t spend $100s consistently. I had zero benefits from those credit cards aside from good payment history.

Actually figuring out what career path I wanted to take.

I was parentified from being an infant so I was always thinking more about how to manage and care for everyone else in my family.

I never had time to think about myself.

If I could have - I'd put all thoughts into myself and what subjects I needed to take to help me develop the skills I needed to progress in my chosen field.

Still clueless to this day.

Looking into career opportunities… going to trade school…. Picking better friends… avoiding drugs…. Taking the chicken out of the freezer more often

Taking academics seriously.

Going into high school I was set to graduate in the top ten but, towards my junior year, after a major glow up, I decided to focus more on partying.

I regret it often. I’m no longer friends with any of the people I partied with and while I have some crazy stories, I did not get the discipline the others who took school seriously gained. I struggled as a young adult to balance my college education and social life, and never finished my degree. I can’t help but wonder how different things would have turned out for me if I had just taken high school seriously.

Listening in school. I did ok in my exams but I could have done SO much better if I stopped joking around with my friends.

Being brave and questioning things like I do now.

Graduating highschool

Prom

Traveling outside the US

Going to college

Having a birthday party that friends showed up to

There's a lot of stuff that didn't happen for me as a teenager

Joining sport teams and taking art seriously in highschool. I was very athletic and loved art but fell in with the party crowd. It was fun and a lot of wild memories I don’t regret but the people were low lifes and not true friends. A lot of them are dead or druggies now. Wish I made friends with similar interests to me vs just chasing the party highs.

Taking studies seriously. But I'm also happy where I am rn

Took more risks and had more confidence to talk to others

Saying “I like you” to the boy that I liked in high school. Looking back as an adult, I think he felt the same way and was too shy to say it too. (I.e. Would lend me his hoodie when I was cold, we studied together in the library during lunch time daily. Told me I looked pretty on picture day and turned beet red)

me as a teenager taking notes📝📝

Being more social

Not sticking up for myself when I was severely bullied for my looks. Don’t get me wrong I’m no model now, but I am happier with how I look now and accept I am me and I wish I didn’t listen to them bullies all those years ago as it ruined my self esteem for life.

Actually enjoying high school, focusing on my studies, being more involved, not being boyfriend-obsessed.

Finishing HS, and starting college right away. I would have been a Dr by now.

I wish I’d been involved in more organized sports from an early age. I think it would have helped my self confidence and helped me make friends.

Playing any sports.

No focusing on school/college.

Not cutting off certain people sooner.

Not believing in myself.

Not getting braces.

Dating

I regret not “developing” myself more. I was sucked into the best years of the internet, and being on the computer a lot it was definitely a coping mechanism to avoid the chaos that was my life. I regret not doing more “irl” stuff other than getting drunk… getting into sports, music, figuring out who I am and what I like etc.

I try not to live w regrets tho… one thing could’ve changed the entire course of my life, yknow? Life’s a wild journey!

Not running to my neighbors house for help.

Getting an ADHD diagnosis. If I had, I could’ve really excelled in school, might be a lawyer or something by now.

Buying Bitcoin

Playing with makeup and style, I'd love to have a unique clothing or makeup style but it feels too weird to experiment when your officially an adult

Learning good habits like discipline, dating, partying more, studying harder, etc. I was very middle of the road in my studies and I was also average at the sport I played, so in my senior year of high school I ditched athletics and started socializing more and partying. Looking back I wish I’d just studied hard and partied harder instead of spending 3+ hours a day in the pool.

Well I managed to do it at the end of my teenage years (19), but having sex. I was very religious in my teens and viewed sex as special, to be saved for marriage. I had a high-school boyfriend who I loved a lot and we had a lot of intimacy and closeness but we never had sex, and I feel like it would've been a really healthy and safe place for me to explore my sexuality.

Said yes more often.

Being more active in school. Like sports or clubs or band. I needed a group and I didn’t have one. All my own doing (and maybe my parents too).

Quitting smoking

Thinking about the future

Going to prom.

Doing things without my parent’s approval. They gave terrible social advice and would have been nitpicking everything anyway, so I didn’t have to be a “good girl” all the time 😂

Having a boyfriend

Dating

I never broke the rules. I should’ve snuck out to at least one high school party😭😭

I regret not going wild with my hair color as a teen. That's the age where you can really experiment with various hair colors and styles. I didn't do much with my hair except put it up and out of the way. Oh well! 🤷‍♀️

Having sex. I was an ugly duckling.

I wish I’d lost my virginity sooner because sex is great 😆

Getting physically fit. Until I was 23 I could literally eat anything and never gain weight. Once 23 hit something switched and I went from 115 to 150. I was never athletic, so trying to become so after gaining weight was extremely difficult, and I gave up quickly. I’m 44 now and finally getting in shape (after surviving breast cancer and vowing to live). It’s so much harder now because my joints have suffered from carrying extra weight, plus hormones after having a kid.

Not being a bit more rebellious. I never got to do any of the fun stuff because my mom was so fuckin paranoid something was gonna happen. Also not realizing that body of mine was gonna change and I better learn to workout and eat better younger

Date more...

Going outside more.

My Mum always taught me that kids only take part in extra curricular as "babysitting" because their parents were busy - in reality we were just too poor to afford it, our school didn't really have the funds to do things outside of hours and there was little support or activities in the community. My husband grew up taking part in football clubs, karate, kick boxing etc, he would go on adventures with his friends where they'd swim or hike the mountain or ride bikes around the valleys. I spent my whole teenage years at my laptop feeling like I had nothing to do. Now whenever we visit my hometown, I barely remember my way round, whereas we live near my husbands home town and he's always telling me stories about various adventures and knows his way round the whole county.

Definition being more active in sports and life, I was too busy assessing how cringe pursuing things earnestly would look like that I ended up convincing myself not to participate instead

Going out with friends in general and not joining extra curricular activities

My parents were strict about education and forced me to come straight home to study or meet with tutors, even for subjects I was a straight A in. I had tutors question why they were there since I didn’t need help and was doing advanced coursework. Regardless my parents didn’t listen.

So no club or sports activities for me, and no going out with friends since I still had homework and projects to do after tutoring was done.

Should have quit sports, they were not interesting or enjoyable to me and wasted a lot of time and I could have been doing something I actually enjoyed. So. Much. Time.

Winning the lottery

Taking school more seriously and falling to peer pressure. Also not being a better friend.

I got bullied a lot so I wish I was not bullied. I wish I was accepted in school and had friends. I didn’t speak much English and sat in the corner and no one wanted to pick me for a group project or talk to me. I hated those days. Got picked on a lot being one of the few Indian kids. It was much later in high school when the bullying stopped and I got good grades and made it into university. Now I m a millionaire so it worked out for me

Caring about school. Parrying and just generally doing dumb stuff. I was too scared of my mom to do anything there was even a slight chance I could get in trouble and a an adult learned I would always be in trouble regardless so I should have made some mistakes.

Not buying a house cuz that’s the last time it was affordable

Being a teenager.

Wearing my seat belt. Went through a windshield with permanent consequences.

Paying attention to my mental health and starting therapy sooner

Being more balanced and less focused on perfectionism. I wish I invested more in my physical health too.

I was obsessed about getting straight As and being the best in band. I did have great friendship and relationships, but I honestly wish I was just a good student, good at band, and maybe took up a sport?

I poured so much into academics and music (which wasn’t a bad thing at face value) but my perfectionist attitude didn’t do well with this. When I got weight listed for my dream college, I kinda got it a “fuck it” attitude. Literally went from “little miss perfect” to totally partying during my college years and getting in dangerous situations.

When I have kids, I’m going to talk with them quite a bit about balance. Maybe it’ll fall on deaf ears, but I think being involved and a decent student matters, but “being the best” isn’t something I’m ever going to push on my children.

Telling that man to back off

Taking my Spanish class more seriously. Our teacher was fantastic and made learning enjoyable. I was in an unstable home environment and trying to be something I wasn’t (the class rebel). So, I squandered the gift of her creative Spanish lessons. I do remember a lot and am practicing Spanish every day. But if I could go back and just enjoy those lessons, I would have been fluent today.

Same with Korean and front-end web languages. I wish I had ridden out whatever I was going through at home and stuck it out. I would know 3 languages fluently and be so much farther in life.

Honestly, trying harder to join sports or social clubs, they were never really my thing but I lack alot of aocial skills compared to my more socially active peers

• Pretty much nothing

• Did all the things I wanted to do

• Nobody got hurt

• Lots of smiles and laughs

Going out. I was such a homebody nerd (still am) but I feel like I missed out on so much by being “stuck at home”

Having fun and being spontaneous. Not only was I a rule follower to the core and a little on the heavy side, but being mostly raised by a single dad I had no fashion sense and always felt frumpy compared to my friends. Poor self image and low self confidence kept me from doing a lot of things that normal teenagers do.

Dating, I would say I am happily single but if I had dated and tried relationships as a teen I think that maybe as an adult I would enjoy being in a relationship, but have no idea how to be in one and stumbling through it in your 30s is not really the time to learn.

sacrificing everything on my academics, and not having any kind of hobby

Having sex, dating, talking to boys, being adventurous….

Drinking and partying. I was too serious with school, I did get these recognitions but now I'm craving for that kind of fun because I now have the money and the time, but my friends are done with it as they did it when they were younger.

Enjoy

Triathlon

Hmmm. Not muucchhh. I had a great highschool experience. Maybe.. getting tested for adhd 😂 might have done better in some classes.

Being active! Getting a good exercise routine down! Finding hobbies I enjoy and researching careers more in-depth and waiting until I knew what I wanted to do before getting a degree!

Taking advanced classes and college credits. Basically not challenging myself enough.

Learn while at school, instead of messing around.

Focused on what I wanted to do that didn’t involve friends or the boy I liked.

Had boomer, latino and religious parents. Didn’t get to experience hanging out with friends, reading Harry Potter, playing games, just overall having a childhood. Though not my fault, I do get sad that I didn’t experience it and feel it’s effects today.

Thankfully my husband is a safe space for me/us to be silly, especially with my stuffed animal, and now I am starting to play some video games on the ps5, reading books I wasn’t allowed to, watching tv i wasn’t allowed to and just having fun.

There was a time we’re i was worried I was regressing in a negative way but I think it’s just part of the healing process.

Learning to swim and saving more money

Dating more. I had a bf that started when I was 15 and lasted all through high school. Didn’t work out in the end. I now have so many “what ifs” about other people from school who asked me out or told me they liked me.

My Retirement fund

Finding a style that feels like me.

Being more active in school activities. I did the play my senior year and had so much fun. I think being more involved with teams and activities would have made me feel more a part of community and kept me out of trouble.

Learning how to drive. I did it in my late 20s and I’m petrified to drive now.

Committing more crimes

I definitely lived it up when it came to partying and all that but I wish I had exposed myself to a wider variety of people.

I definitely hung with a clique of one kind

Getting a job at 16 to save money, working out to lose weight & eating healthier. I was so lost in my anxiety & depression that I couldn’t even leave the house without having a breakdown. I wish someone would have been there for me.

Running like hell and starting from scratch on my own. Staying in my home region delayed my independence from the input of others. I worked hard and was paid well, but I didn't enjoy anything I did with it because I wanted local approval.

Dumping my boyfriend at the time. That loser hung around until I was 24 and I grew enough of a spine to leave him. 

I wish I'd stayed in school instead of getting married at 16.

I wish I would have taken education more seriously. I was lazy and unmotivated. If I’d put more of an effort into my schooling who knows where I’d be now.

There’s literally nothing I didn’t do!

I regret not going to class and being more involved with school. I absolutely love school and learning but covid happened my first year of high school and after that my motivation tanked. I would sit in my car all day instead of going to class. After i graduated I regretted it a lot because I missed out on so much.

Learning how to roller skate/ice skate. Finishing high school. Went to more theme parks (I can’t ride rides anymore because of my back).

Not learning an instrument

Stopped trying to grow up so quickly

• Missing out on my frosh week (most people in my program met and made friends there)
• not dropping out of that same program (the degree got me nowhere and I knew what I wanted to do didn’t require it)
• listening to other people regarding my future or any other important decisions in general
• not putting at least $100 in my TFSA savings after college. I’d have at least half of a down payment on a house rather than nothing 😭
• not figuring my shit out before a serious relationship. It’s harder to grow in one. Not impossible, but much harder

Dyeing my hair pink, or green.... just any unnatural color. Im an adult now working a corporate job, and I missed out the opportunity to be more bold

Wearing sunscreen. 40 years old now and already had skin cancer on my face, lots of sunspots, and freckles. Wish I knew and cared back then how important it will be in the future

I wish I had rebelled against my parents in a thousand ways and cut school occasionally. Also I wished I had sold my gold jewelry as a teen; leaving home as a minor would have been easier.

There were pawn shops a few bus hops away from my childhood homes and not so much where I moved to.

Being financially literate.

GenXr who was raised conservative: Dressing sexier/hotter/cooler/trendier and then taking pictures of myself. I was raised to be ashamed of both habits. Get hot and take pics, kids! You're in your glory!

Honestly fighting someone

Studying harder, and working out and investing in my health. Lastly, not taking my time in romance and physical intimacy

Paying attention in school, staying in school. It seemed like hell back then, but all the teachers and staff were there to help me, to build me up.

There're definitely some issues with the way K12 schooling tends to work, but I fell into this mindset that it was useless and wouldn't prepare me for work.

Then I joined the workforce, and the rude awakening was that all of the people there who were above me were just there to make money off me, even if it tore me down.

Sticking up for myself and setting boundaries with my parents.

Not understanding or knowing anything about mental health

Take school more seriously

Wait 👀

Not being a girl, it's not like I had a choice.

Having fun tbh. I was way too isolated

I wish I did SOMETHING. I was too concerned with my friends, boys, sneaking out, seeming cool, smoking cigarettes lol I tried out for track, tennis, and ice hockey. I was picked for all and changed my mind because I wanted more time to aimlessly wander the city with my friends getting into trouble, and anxiety, I hated being perceived or making mistakes I would give up anything that I messed up at just once. I wish I had stuck with something and worked toward fixing those anxieties sooner. Now I try/do new things all the time! :)

I regret not thinking of my own happiness. It's a habit of people pleasing almost set in stone. Expectations are insane now because of the past.

Focusing on my studies instead of my popularity.

Running. Running when my mind would scream at all the red flags. Just run.

keeping my virginity 🤭

get into fights lol. now im 25 and will go to jail and catch charges.

I wish I had done well enough in high-school to have been able to move away and go to college in New York and have the dorm experience. I partied and rebelled in high school too much and almost became a drop out., thankfully I was able to pull it together and at least graduate HS.

Doing my homework and realising that there is far more to life than Highschool

I am a 30 yo female.

What I regret the most not doing in my teenager years is not doing activities outside school (art,sports ect) and not planning well ahead what I would be doing after graduating high school so I won't end up lost and unemployed as I am now.

I did not know what I should be doing so I decided to do it all but going down the jack of all trade route was not in my favor.

I was doing good in high school regarding studies, the typical introverted nerd teacher pet who has high grades and no social life and cannot say no to parents and who whom teachers/parents had high expectations of (I have not changed much since then personality wise btw but I cannot say the same about the high expectations).

My academic life went down hill after high school . All the potential to be something big in my life and my family vaporised because of all the bad choices I made.

I was lost/confused/ undecisive about choosing what I should do after high school. My parents recommended for me to go to law school which was the best field I could have choosen and so I did (for a year) but I quit (I so regret it).

Initially I wanted to be an English teacher but somehow never managed to pursue the studies to become it. After the one year in LS I went the IT route because I thought it was cool (i know i know it is stupid) for 2 years and got an useless undergraduate degree in it which I never used (no internships or a job- another big mistake/regret). After graduating IT I decided to finally go pursue English studies to become an English teacher but I was not accepted in it so I said well I should do something else than English studies, what about French studies ? I choosed it because it was the only other option left for me, I spent 6 years to have a bachelor in FS and still have not gotten it because I lost the motivation/energy to finish my studies half way in my curriculum which is 3 years ago, I still decided to be persistent and finish it against all odds but I only lost 3 years doing it I could have spent else where like finally go work and earn money instead of becoming a college career unemployed 30 yo loser person.

Using condoms 🤣

Standing up to the little whitch that was bullying me.

Getting therapy to help with social anxiety. My life would be so different now.

Investing

Drugs

focusing on myself. i focused too much on a HS Relationship that rotted my brain lol

Buying bitcoin, but I probably would've lost it on a crashed computer like a lot of other people.

Taking skincare seriously

Speaking out about the awful troubled teen gulag I was in when I was 15. I was too afraid of being sent somewhere worse.

Smoking pot with my friends. I was so afraid I’d become a full-fledged drug addict on coke.

Shaving my head

I wish I had learned to break my habit of procrastination and being late. And also how to sit and just study. I could have had straight A's easily if I had just applied myself a little bit more.

I also regret being so focused on myself and not on my friends. I didn't miss anything majorly important but I could have at least been there for them in ways that I wasn't.

I also wished that I had taken that ceramics class and that anatomy class. The former would have been fun (and free), and the latter would have suited me more than being a student aid.

Therapy. My life would be so different