Being halfway done with college has had me thinking about my past, and, more importantly, my future. At the ripe age of 20, I realize that I have my whole life ahead of me, but that doesn't keep me from reflecting on my mistakes over the years. When people ask me if I have any regrets, I typically answer with "No, because I'm happy with where my mistakes have led me." While it is true that I am happy with where my life is at now, I would redo a few things if I had the chance.
1. Work Less in High School.
Having a job in high school is so important to character development. It will teach you how to work for what you get and how to take responsibility for your actions. Because I was so dedicated to my job in high school, I was able to get some work experience and gain a positive reference for future jobs/internships. I was also able to save up some money to use on luxuries that I might not be able to afford otherwise. While my work experience in high school was important and I'm grateful for all the things I learned by working, I also missed out on a lot of opportunities I'll never get back. I missed vacations with my mom (which are few and far between these days). I missed birthday parties with my friends and countless summer adventures due to work. Eventually, some of my friends quit bothering to invite me places because I was always too busy to go. Now that I'm going to college out-of-state, I rarely get to see my friends and wish more than anything that I would have worked less and cherished my time at home more than I did.
2. Call My Grandparents More Often.
In high school and college, it's so easy to let the chaos of your day-to-day life take over. Soon it seems like all you do is eat, sleep, work, and go to class (which sometimes, that is all I do). If I'm lucky, I get to see my grandparents once a year, and find that no matter how much I miss them or how much I think of them, I never actually call them. Now that one of my grandparents has passed away, I realize how little I talked to her. The fact of the matter is this: my grandparents have done so much for me-sacrificing for me every holiday and asking about me every time they talk to my parents. I have failed them by not taking a little bit of time out of my day to call them and ask how they are doing.
3. Go On that Spur-of-the-Moment Road Trip.
At the beginning of last summer, I was invited to go on a road trip with two of my best friends. The only trouble with going? Work. I could have found someone to cover my shifts. I could have begged my boss for time off-but I didn't even ask because I didn't want to disappoint my boss (refer to point #1). My friends invited someone else, and they had a great time. They seem so much closer now, and every time I see a #tbt picture of their trip, I regret not going with them. I've tried to think of another time to go on a road trip, but now that it's becoming necessary for me to get an internship over the summer (pretty much a requirement to get into medical school), I'm not sure that I'll have the chance for a long, long time.
4. Stop Eating So Much Fast Food.
Let's be honest-as a college student, fast food is the holy grail of dining experiences. The food is readily accessible, cheaper than cooking your own food, and tastes pretty dang good most of the time. Why is eating fast food all the time a bad thing, then? First, it seems like there is always a fast food bag in your car, even if you swear you took them all out. Second, even just a few bucks for food here and there can add up when you have a paid meal plan on campus. Third, the dreaded freshman fifteen can easily be changed to the freshman fifty. There is next to no nutritional value in fast food, and the calorie count will make you cringe. I blame fast food for most of my college weight gain.
5. Figure Out How to Make My Mom's Best Recipes Before Leaving for College.
When I left for college, I never knew how much I would miss my mom's cooking. I swear I can open the fridge and find a bottle of water and a bottle of ketchup and she will somehow make a feast from it (I'm telling you, she's incredible). I learned to love food because she made everything taste like heaven. Little did I know, it is not as easy to be a master chef as she makes it seem. I've helped her cook tons of times, so how hard would it be for me to replicate her recipes at college? Very hard (0/10, would not recommend.) One day last year, I was really craving my mom's pulled pork sandwiches. I went out and bought a crockpot, and called her to ask her how to make them. I kid you not, I followed every direction to the t. While my mom's pulled pork just falls apart and is perfectly seasoned, mine looked and tasted like elementary school cafeteria mystery meat. I'm pretty sure I cried that day, because I finally realized that my mom's recipes aren't as easy to duplicate as I had hoped.
As you can see, most of my regrets are things that I didn't do instead of things that I did wrong. Making mistakes is human, but not living? That's where you lose your humanity. If you take one thing away from this article, make it this: live. It's important to be responsible, but it's more important to make your life worth living.
