They say hindsight is 20/20 and, boy, are they right. If I had a nickel for every time I regretted something from my past, I would not be a broke college student. The past is an alluring place of what ifs, but ultimately everything belongs in the past. However, this can be easier said than done.

Sometimes, I stay up all night (because I totally have the time and no morning classes at all) and torture myself over trivial things that happened years ago. I think about how much time I wasted on meaningless boys and horrible friends. I think about how life would be if I never met that specific person. How much would be different? Would my life be better off or far worse? I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, but sometimes it is just too hard to look at life that way.

My biggest regret in life (at the

moment, because I am sure I will have plenty more in the future to choose from) is that I did not study abroad during my college years. All I have ever wanted was to go to England, specifically London. I wanted to see the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, view a play on the West End. The Harry Potter series is what initially made me the reader I am today and I wanted to pay homage to Jo at the coffee shop where the magic started. I wanted to study abroad at Oxford and chose my school, partially because they offer the program. All I desired was to study brilliant authors at this prestigious university. Unfortunately, I wound up not going at all. I am not proud of this, but I was scared. I was scared of being so far from home in a country where I knew no one. I was scared of missing out on things at home and at school. All my friends and family would be moving on and experiencing things without me. I let all that stop me.

Regret comes in different forms for everyone. Ultimately, I believe there are two types of regret. The first type is where you look back on an event and can learn from your mistakes and grow as a person, ensuring it will never happen again. The second type of regret is where you look back and no matter what, you come to the conclusion that it was a stupid mistake and it should not have happened.

Regret can be a time and confidence killer. Sometimes, all it does is torture you and repeat your mistakes in your mind on a loop. However, we are capable of feeling regret as a reminder to not do those things again. I know I certainly will not let anything stop me from traveling and experiencing life again. No matter what you may regret, you can always learn from it, but then move forward. Do not torture yourself over past mistakes forever.