What is your one regret?

[Karista]

Mine is definitely not going to college. After high school I was offered a "fantastic job" (LOL - $6 per hour in 1983) and never thought I would need college. Anyhow, I know it's never too late to go back but with teen and preteen children, my energy is sapped.

What's your one regret?

 

[Amy]

I actually have two - like you, I wish I'd gone to college instead of secretarial school. I have a good job ($20 an hour for parttime work), but I always wonder "what if?"

Also, I wish DH and I had traveled more before we had kids. I've always wanted to see Germany, and we're hoping to get there next year for our 20th anniversary IF (and that's a real big IF) we can convince my parents to watch the boys for 2 weeks so we can go.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I wish we would have been older and more mature when we started our family. I made plenty of mistakes, that I might have avoided if we had waited a bit.

 

[Desiree]

Add me to the college regret list. But I'm hoping to rectify that soon enough.

 

[honeywolf7]

I wish I'd waited until I was older to get married.

 

[Pat_Elliott]

Here's a twist. How about too much college? I spent a pile of time and money getting a masters that's totally worthless to me. I had about as much interest in business as I did flipping burgers, and quite frankly if I had my choice and could make a living at both, I'd rather flip burgers! Wasted time, money, and effort, and basically the only thing good that came out of it is the ability to do my own taxes and file my own S-Corp papers.

On the flip side, I regret not taking my undergrad years more seriously. While the degree is there, some of the knowledge I really needed (mostly math) is forever lost in a haze of hungover 8 AM classes.....

To those who regret lack of college, it's never too late. You'd probably do better now than you would have in your early twenties.

 

[2bemarried]

Wish I had finished college the first time. Working full-time now and in school at night. Very time consuming for sure.

 

[scarlett873]

my one regret? it was never telling my ex boyfriend that i still loved him and still wanted to be with him after we had been apart for 2 years...but that one regret was resolved 2 years ago...we found our way back together after 10 years and are now blissfully married!

i do regret not finishing college. i was a music ed major for about 3 years and did a complete aboutface and went to travel school instead. i worked in the travel industry from 1995 until just after 9-11-01. i have a great job now...i'm a receptionist for a computer training center and i get paid fairly well for not having a college degree! and i get to DIS all day long too... i do plan to go back to college someday, i'm just not sure what i would do...

 

[snoopy]

I gotta go along with Pat Elliott on this one. I actually don't really regret graduate school, but an MFA was not really necessary in finding a job in the creative arts, and I'm not using it at all now in my current field of HR. I'm glad I had the experience, but the student loans were huge, both for undergrad and grad school. Took a loooooooong time to pay them back, and while I find the experience invaluable, I may have skipped grad school if I had to do it all over again, or perhaps waited until I found a company to work for that would have financed my advanced studies.

A true regret would be for those I've lost, to have been able to articulate just how much I loved them while they are alive. I do try and dwell on the fact that they must have known, because actions speak louder then words.

 

[Harley Chick]

I wish I had gone to Berklee College of Music instead of Northeastern University. I wanted a music career, but chose the "safe" way out so I'd have "something to fall back on". Well, I've fell back on it my whole life.

 

[Harambe]

Sort of a petty regret, I guess. But I wish I had traveled to Egypt while I was in college or shortly after graduating. Now, with all the unrest in the world, I don't feel comfortable taking a trip there. And it is a place I have always wanted to see.

Pat - I'm with you on the MBA thing. My boss suggested I get one, fully paid for by the company, and I looked into it. All of a sudden, I realized I just ain't the corprate type! That's when I quit big business and became a lowly teacher's aide (using the old BA in teaching) - and I love it! I've never regreted that descion - going from 85,000 a year to 8500! God love my hubby for figuring out how to adjust our bills!

 

[Pat_Elliott]

Originally posted by Harambe
Pat - I'm with you on the MBA thing.

I'm glad to hear others agree with this, assuring I don't sound too insincere! An MBA is almost a degree in standoffishness. You're no longer qualified to do anything real. And starting to pay back those loans and realizing there was no way I was going to fester in an office in a suit 5 days a week like dear old dad, well it was like getting a premedical degree and realizing as you begin your residency that you can't stand the sight of blood. Gradual school: a place where you gradually learn you don't want to go to school anymore.......

My apologies, by the way, to people who achieved an MBA and feel pride (it's tough) and fulfillment (it's highly needed education for highly important jobs). But to a guy that wants to play with computers, it's a 15 year mortgage without the house.

 

[CamColt]

My regret isnt really a big one, but I wish I had gotten a tattoo back in my younger wilder days. I feel Im too old to get one now.
Who knows, had I gotten one, I may be regretting that now, LOL!

 

[DrTomorrow]

Sign me up for Pat's "We don't need no stinkin' MBA" club.

It's not really a regret - I got (paid) to teach undergrads DOS, Lotus and dbase [sounds like History of Computing....] and I found out that I really enjoyed teaching (if only it paid what my techie jobs pay). But my MBA hasn't really justified itself; although working for a small company, even as a computer guy, situations have arisen where a phrase or concept from bus school came in handy.

My regret, I guess, is that I didn't do college at 18, but instead got married, had DS and kicked around various odd jobs (cooking, appliance sales , etc.). While the good news is that I started at 24 and got a BS CompEng degree I use every day (and the aforementioned MBA in InfoSys), I often wonder what a carefree 18-22 might have been like on campus - particularly since DS just graduated from U of Mich w/BS in CompEng!

Note to all College regretters - IT IS NEVER TOO LATE!!! I was a 24-year-old freshman (ooh, sounds like the title of my life story) and DW started in her 30's when DS was a teen. It seemed like a long time - and a LOT of work - 'til we were done when we started, but it zipped by and now we're empty nesters heading off to the Polynesian! So check out that community college today - start with a single class; and Pat's right, too, about you doing better than the 18YOs who are there because it beats working.

 

[Gette88]

I wish we bought our home in a different town. We wish we didn't live so close to DH's parents. I know we can sell and buy elsewhere but that's easier said then done with DD in middle school and involved in sports.

 

[~Sparkly~Zoe]

A few things, I wish I had gotten more of an education and that I had managed my money better.

 

[December99]

That I partied too much when I was going to college and then other things were more important in my life and I never finished. I keep saying someday!!!!!

 

[Deb in IA]

My one regret was not going overseas to do charity medical work.


I've frequently thought about joining Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross, the Peace Corps, or other organizations. However, with our current lives (kids, mortgage, academic obligations, etc), it would be impossible. And DH has NEVER had any inclination to be involved with this type of activity

 

[helenabear]

I'm going to be an oddball here... no real regrets at all. I have done things that sometimes I think I shouldn't have done, but in the end, everything that has happened has brought me to where I am today. I wouldn't change that for the world.

 

[Rajah]

I'm with Elaine. Can't really think of any real regrets. The closest I can think of is not going to Girl Scouts. I was in Brownies for a little bit, but dropped out before I "graduated" to official Girl Scouts. But really, most of the stuff the Girl Scouts learn, my parents were really good about teaching me, so I don't know that other than interaction with the other girls, I don't think I really missed out on anything.