In the entirety of the 15 years that I have lived, there are many experiences and mistakes I made that I heavily regret now. I am determined never to make those mistakes. Here are seven experiences and mistakes that I made in the past that I will never do again.

1. Riding a camel

When I visited India two years ago, I rode a camel thinking it would be a very fun experience. It was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made. I didn’t have time to sit on it properly before it stood up abruptly and left me dangling at the side and screaming for my life. Never do I want to experience that again in my life. I cannot look at a camel ever again without thinking about that nightmarish incident.

2. Submitting a major project late

In ninth grade, I submitted a project late and underestimated how many points my grade dropped. I thought it would drop one point, but instead, it dropped five points. After all the time I spent trying to increase my grade, I lost it in a matter of minutes due to a single project. I was devastated as it was the one class I didn't have a good enough grade in, and I spoiled my chances with the project that could've boosted my grade.

3. Wearing makeup

I started wearing makeup as I saw everyone around me do the same. I wanted to fit in. Now I realize it was probably the biggest mistake I ever made. Because of makeup, my face is now ruined. I regret ever making that horrible decision and now stopped wearing it to at least improve what's left.

4. Lose a friend to an obsession

When I was 10 years old, I became heavily obsessed with watching TV. Everyday after school, I came home and just binge-watched TV. I became very distant from all my friends. I ignored their calls and refused to hang out with them just so that I could watch cartoons all day. Slowly, they withdrew as well and stopped being my friends. I learned my lesson and will never do that again.

5. Not working myself to my full capability

I used to just work for a high B or an A in all my classes last year even when I knew that if I put in effort, I could achieve much more than that. My parents constantly told me to work hard to succeed in life. I didn’t understand them at that time. Now, I do, because I realize the competition around me to get into good colleges.

If I had worked harder last year and was more active in clubs and extracurricular activities, I would’ve had a higher GPA and better things to put on my college application. Because I realize that now, I am pushing myself to the limit.

6. Not spending enough time with my family

Everyday, I ignored my parents when they said they wanted to spend time with me to go watch movies on my laptop or talk with my friends. I never really understood their love for me and wasn’t grateful enough to them.

But now that I’m going off to college in only two years, I regret all the time I lost that I could’ve spent with them before leaving them behind to go live my own life. I will never again ignore my parents and and spend as much time as I can with them.

7. Not trying new food items

I was a very stubborn child when I was young and refused to go out of my comfort zone, especially in terms of food, when I went to different places. I remember my parents trying to get me to eat new, exotic foods, such as escargots (snails), but I refused and acted stubborn. Now that I'm older and am learning different cultures, I wish I didn't throw such tantrums and tried new dishes before declaring whether I liked it or not.