30 Adults Share What They Regret Not Doing While They Were Young

I have terrible tinnitus that is so loud and annoying. But I had to blast music as loud as possible when I was young.

Agreed. But it's too late now and I'm not sure I was ever "smart" enough to do this.

YES. I have always used hearing protection. Probably because it was emphasized in both school shops and the military. Now I'm at the other end - in my 60s. At an age where among my peers it really shows who did or didn't think ear plugs were necessary. My neighbor can't hear many things I can hear. A long time friend recently got hearing aids and now he's not shouting at people because he can actually hear them and his own voice.

Yep. I started smoking to look cool for a guy I liked in high school. He’s long gone but 20 years later I’m still addicted and feel guilty half way through every cigarette I smoke. Every. Single. One. Learn from us, young pandas.

Same here. Forty years ago two of my fiends made me smoke a cigarette, telling me how cool it looked. I've never been able to stop, I always started again.

I'm an addict but I don't have to have it. Been addicted for like 30 years. I have maybe one a month, or every two months. I think it is definitely addictive, and its benefits are near zero. Mostly it's useful if you need to stay awake. If you don't need to do that (studying, working late, driving late, etc), then don't do it.

Neither would I Quit 28 years ago Now I'm on oxygen 24/7 Lungs function at 43%

Yeah ex mormon here, I left too, but there are still really nice people in this religeon!!

Cults need to be abolished.

So happy you were able to leave. Wishing you all the best

My gf and her family are Mormon. I'm a Christian myself and she's a lovely girl but I don't want my life shared with someone from a cult.and nor do I want our children to be bought up in two beliefs. How do I fix it?

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Here's the thing tho: instead of worrying about the time you didn't spend with them, look at the time you did.

And many of the "cool" kids in high school and college are toxic. Often one does not learn to recognize that trait in "successful" popular people until one is much older.

I live in Texas really regret I haven't learned Spanish

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Addition by subtraction is the easiest step to a better life.

I'm 70. I wish I had learned more languages when it was easier.

Im far from a polyglot but I am fairly proficient in 6 or 7 languages. I could get by in most european countries for sure and I could probably not die if I had to get around in china. I didnt start until my late 30s.

Kids can learn languages faster than adults, and it develops their brains.

Nice to see someone pulling it back..

I wish more people did. I see young people waste so much money, often out of ignorance. Not just young of course but it seems worse - like basic money skills are less common. Don't know how to do a basic budget, pay $$$ to have someone prepare their taxes even though their situation is simple and can be done in a few minutes with the EZ form. Not understanding contracts - rental, lease to own etc.

Lots of banks have educational packets designed specifically to teach kids basic banking. You just have to ask.

yeah I'd give my junior self the advice to cut down on candies.

Related - for introverts - stay in touch with the friends you do have. It is hard for me to reach out. I put off calling thinking, "I don't know their schedule / maybe they are busy" and so on. Over the years I have lost touch with long time friends because I didn't maintain the friendship. Still friends in my heart but I let them drift away due to my own isolation.

Society is harsh on women and enforces a very particular expectation, not realisable, on just exactly how you should look. Any perceived shortcomings that a teenager lacking in confidence thinks they see becomes a yawning chasm preventing them from participating in life. Please stop doing this to our girls!!

I totally relate..

Sometimes you just can't find the real person until after "I do". My 1st and I lived together for 2 years b4 we got married. All household chores evenly split and rotated each week. After we married, i became the housewife, all the household chores, shopping, raising his son from a previous marriage, (fm age 2.5 to 7 total) doing all the meals, packed lunches, making sure the homework was done. All while working fulltime. What did he do? Stacked the delivered 3 cords of firewood twice a year. He had the cojones to say that in counseling. He also berated me for bringing up stuff that was too personal in counseling.

Or settling down with the wrong person too late.

I did that for 3 years. Travelling IT guy. Flying around for companies, troubleshooting, working my butt off, making huge money. 60 hrs was a light week, usually 80-100, and I never saw anyone I loved or had fun. It burned me out completely and generally made every part of my life worse. In the end the cost to my physical and mental health was extreme and I ended up spending most of my savings to save myself from the consequences. Was not worth it

Good for you! I was financially successful, but both physically and emotionally exhausted at about the same age. Left IT Project Management to go back to school. Finished and became a pediatric speech-language pathologist at 40. Turned out great. I love what I do. It's interesting and challenging and the kids make me laugh every day.

And for those with a creative streak, don’t let people force you into a box. I was discouraged from creative work and basically strongly encouraged to go STEM. I spent my career constantly bouncing until I found something I had a passion for until I went out on disability at 38. Now I have all the time in the world to pursue my creative interests but not enough money.