I wish I'd known...

[mdk2isu]

I was having a conversation a couple days ago with a friend and we were talking about things we wish we had known earlier in life and questions we wish we had been asked before choosing to do certain things (college, jobs, etc). It got me thinking that we cant be the only one with those thoughts.

What have you learned that you wish you had known earlier in life?

Are there any questions you have been asked or pieces of advise you have received that you wish had been asked to you or given to you earlier? What are they? What would you change as a result?

 

[cyIclSoneU]

I wish I'd known that you will regret the things you don't do a lot more than the things you do.

 

[Mtowncyclone13]

paychecks are nice but time is more important after college. don't rush into a job for a few dollars when you really want to travel

 

[madguy30]

Dating in high school is not a great idea.

I knew that then, but still dated a bit, and it was a bad idea. Might just be because of it being a small school.

Otherwise I wish I would have known time really does go fast, especially after college. My years after college have been some favorites but they went by in a flash.

 

[Bret44]

I wish I would have known my fiancé would take a job around where I used to work instead of moving closer to home.

I could be in my 6th year there, instead I get to move again next Summer. Yay.

 

[Deanster]

I wish I would've known that one chick had crabs...

 

[heyguy85]

I wish I'd have known that you aren't as cool as you think you are in high school, and that those years have little to no bearing on how successful you'll be in life (I'm 31). I was not in the popular group nor did I have trendy items. I now have a 4 year degree, working towards my master's, 9 years at my job I love, a beautiful wife, and perfect daughter who is 18 months today.

 

[madguy30]

I wish I would have explored more options for college, just to experience something different.

Although good things happened as a result of where I went, so can't complain.

 

[cowgirl836]

that a lot of the times it really is who you know

adults don't have **** figured out. They're all making it up as they go just like you.

that most of the time people are right about saying 'it'll all work out'

 

[mdk2isu]

What my friend and I were talking about specifically was this: People ask the wrong question when choosing what to study or go into for a career.

People generally ask: What do I want to do?
What we both wished people had asked us: How do you want to live? Followed by: What path will allow you to live that way?

 

[Cyclonepride]

I would have gone to school for archaeology. I know now that there is not a lot of demand or money in that kind of thing, but I would have loved the hell out of that career.

 

[Cloned]

The beauty of compounding interest. Invest early, even if just a little.

 

[Antihawk240]

Your customers are your customers, so you should be customers to them.

 

[Cyclone11]

I wish I would've known that one chick had crabs...

What is crabs?

 

[mdk2isu]

Something I wish I understood sooner than I did:
Don't worry about what other people think of you, be the best you that you can be.

 

[CycoCyclone]

I'd tell me to stop giving a **** about being popular, having 30 friends is way more valuable than being part of the pretty people.

the self confidence of college is a wonderful thing.

 

[MeanDean]

Appreciate your parents while they're still around (and grandparents)

Try to learn as much as you can about THEIR life experiences. Not so much to avoid making any mistakes they may have made, but because they LIVED HISTORY (your FAMILY history) - and passing along their historical life markers and their reaction to major historical events seems so much more interesting to me than what some historian or famous person says about it.

 

[carvers4math]

Try to eliminate drama from your life as best you can. You know those people. The conspiracy theorists at work. The family members and friends who are all about them and their latest crisis. Sometimes you can't avoid them, but don't let them suck you into their drama, because it is one "crisis" after another.

 

[carvers4math]

Appreciate your parents while they're still around (and grandparents)

Try to learn as much as you can about THEIR life experiences. Not so much to avoid making any mistakes they may have made, but because they LIVED HISTORY (your FAMILY history) - and passing along their historical life markers and their reaction to major historical events seems so much more interesting to me than what some historian or famous person says about it.

Can't possibly agree with this more. People now have such more convenient ways of preserving memories, make sure the camera is pointed at your parents as well as your kids.

My mother was a wonderful pianist and used to to play one old song after another by memory. So wish I could have easily videotaped her at the time. I have an old cassette tape, which is increasingly difficult to play. Heard a guy in a department store playing some of the same songs and was sad I couldn't remember all of the ones Mom played.

My siblings and I all remember our parents' stories differently. Wish we had a better means of preserving them for our children.

I do have their WW II letters to one another, and need to preserve those and maybe go through them and try to put their contents on a computer. Mom had that perfect handwriting that people used to have, but not sure the kids and grandkids could read Dad's, always a little messy and probably not great conditions in the South Pacific to write them. The fact that they survived all of these years always makes me think I need to write real letters more often.

 

[Bryce7]

Getting timely psa tests.