Folks in late 20s - early 30s: looking back at your early 20s..

wj4

wj4

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....would you do things differently?

I've had this conversation with many of my friends in the last month or so. I'm about to turn 30 later this year so I was just reflecting back.

My friends who are now doctors, pharmacists, etc wish they had more time back in college to go out and party.

Conversely, the ones I know who partied a lot wished they took school more seriously so they're not just starting fresh in college at the tail end of their 20s.

I regret not getting more experience in. So many summers wasted doing nothing while in undergrad.
 
Grass is always greener, b.

I'm 25... I wish I could fast shared to 35, get all that knowledge, then come back to 25.

That would be :pimp:
 
Emphatically yes. Same age as OP and I would do everything differently. Either didn't use the chances given or just wasted time doing nothing. I would prolly take more chances instead of playing it safe all the time. Now it feels like I'm making up for these times wasted.
 
I wish I had done more interacting with people. i was pretty reserved. now that Im married ive had several girls tell me how they wanted to talk with me, but I was so shy. i would have planned a career. i've fallen *** backaward into all of my jobs. I'm pretty stable now, but I wish I would have focused more on one career path.
 
Looking back, you know what? No I wouldn't change anything. I would give myself some financial advice, but I only know what I know now from screwing up back then. Anything else I'd change would probably only result in me with kids now.

Its good to get all the stupidity/selfishness out the way now than trying to do it when you're older.

Being the old guy in the classroom >>>>>>>>> being the old guy in the club.
 
turn 30 later this year too...

Took out less student loans, refund checks was too sweet to pass up smh

been more active in student organizations in undergrad

could have did a dual program for my JD when I was getting my masters... maybe I should have considered that more.

Definitely would have tried to manage credit better... but all the credit debt i racked up early has fell off but I still got some work to do
 
Wis, I'm going to be 30 this year as well brother so I know why you ask the questions you ask.

IMHO here are 2 wisdom pieces I hope younger and older NT'ers will understand...

1) The grass will ALWAYS be greener....if you live with some sort of regret about the past

and

2) Hindsight is always 20/20....when your living with some sort of regret about the past.

It seems to me that this is a human condition for people who are either trying to be successful in the present, feel stuck in life, and/or live with that regret.

there's tons of things I wish I did differently to be honest. I think about it daily. But over the past year i've learned how to better cope with the setbacks i've come across.

So for anyone making a big decision (e.g., type of girl your dating, lending/borrowing money, financial investment, career, education, etc.) I urge you to take the time to gather the facts about the situation....especially the fact about how you feel about the situation and make the best decision possible. The best decision is not always the one that will make you feel good though...initially.
 
I think about this often. We always wish we would have done something differently, I know I do certainly, but ultimately, nah. I'm where I'm at for a reason. No ragrets b. 

I do wish I had the knowledge now about women then, but like @Tr1ll  said, I probably would have had kids 
laugh.gif
 
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i wish i would have been more focused on being more aggressive job wise...

ive settled into a role doing a job with a company I HATE, but the work is very easy and convenient to do...im the type of person that gets their energy from work/professional aspects, so if I am dealing with slow, dull, uninteresting environment or work, the other aspects in my life will kind of become that way too (at least thats what I've discovered about myself)...
 
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Tr1ll said:
 I would give myself some financial advice, but I only know what I know now from screwing up back then. Anything else I'd change would probably only result in me with kids now.

Its good to get all the stupidity/selfishness out the way now than trying to do it when you're older.

Being the old guy in the classroom >>>>>>>>> being the old guy in the club.
Click to expand...
THIS

It's the essence of learning. You can learn a variety of ways, but I think this way has the most impact.
 
Definitely wish I took undergrad more seriously. But this falls back to the idea that I wish I knew what I know now which to think about it's always right. The path we take and the mistakes we make are what shape us.
 
Definitely would do things a LOT different but water under the bridge. But like my favorite Robert Frost poem goes

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Click to expand...
 
I'm glad I cut every chick loose I was ******* with back then.

Most of them have a kid or two now...

So I definitely agree with Trill on that.
 
I would've taken life more seriously in my 20s instead of partying all the damn time but I'm glad all the eff ups I've been through made me a better person now.

I'm 31 btw.
 
In my early 20's I lived with regrets, shame and what could've been. Now at 28 I've done hard work to unlearn and forget everything society has taught me. Meditation has helped immensely. My point is you can do hypotheticals all day, but **** it. 
 
I'm in my early 30s and the only thing I would change would be to have buckled down and gotten through college in 4 years. Instead, with working and school it took me until I was 25 to graduate.

And I wish I never smoked cigarettes or got into drugs when I was younger.

I'm at a great point in my life now, personally and professionally, so I can't really complain. I suppose that was just the path I was meant to take.
 
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Less student loans. I stunted hard with those refund checks. :smh:

Different major in school. Definitely don't love the career field I decided on.

Besides that, I had a blast. I screwed up a lot, but I learned so much from those mistakes over the years.
 
I can't say yes or no. On one hand, i'm happy with who I am today, and what I went through then built that foundation, but who's to say I wouldn't be even better now had they been different?
 
Hm. I'm 26 now, and there's a couple minor changes i would do.

- Be an RA in undergrad to get free housing while in college.

- Got in the gym earlier. (i was frail till my junior year)

Other than that, i needed to go through everything that happened to me. Now with the back half of my twenties left, I'm everything I need to be.

I've only now started to apply the principles of balance in life (Religion, Romantic Life, Physical Health, Family, Life Experience) and how much happier I am when I'm doing it.
 
In for the potential pieces of wisdom.

I believe I'm still fairly young compared to the other posters in this thread and I'm more than open to listen to those who have walked the path before I.



-Drew
 
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