I think that, as a 21-year-old college student, I can honestly say that I don't have many regrets of things that I've done. Maybe in the moment I had a few regrets (or a lot), but in the end, the stupid things we do and say make us who we are, right? Honestly, sometimes I think What if I hadn't? What if I hadn't gone on that one school field trip and ate way too many pixie sticks (and by way, too many. I mean like 12 big pixie sticks. What a day!)? What if I'd stayed home from school the day we made up a board game in study hall and spent 45 minutes dying of laughter? And there are more serious ones, too -- what if I hadn't called that one friend out on being self-destructive? What if I hadn't been honest with myself and my friends about the struggles I have on a day-to-day basis?

You see, I think I would have regretted not doing some things. But I never regret doing them. Every moment of every day, every decision we make in those moments -- that's the sum of us. How can you regret who you are?

While I don't think I can regret what I've done, I know I can regret what I haven't. I know this is terribly cliché, but we regret the things we don't do, the opportunities we let slip away. So when I saw this video on Facebook, it choked me up:

I watch this video and see people put up their "nots" -- not following my dream, not going to med school, not saying "I love you." It automatically makes me think about my "not" regrets -- not letting people get close to me for such a long time, not learning how to hug people back (which you think should be a natural thing, but for me is something I'm still slowly coming to understand), not being honest with people in the crucial moments when they're deeply honest with me, not ever stepping out of my comfort zone. I have a hundred of them, maybe more, and I could keep listing them until you no longer want to listen to me (although I won't -- you're welcome). And watching this video, I could relate so easily to these people. Can't you? Can't we all?

Because if the things we do make us who we are, what about the things we don't do? The things we don't say? The chances we never take? Don't those shape us just as much, if not more?

Who would I be if I had spent my whole life stepping out of my comfort zone? That's a crazy thought to me. I honestly can't even imagine it. I love my comfort zone. Comfort zones are nice, and, well, comfortable. But if I had stepped out of it more often, would it have become bigger? Disappeared? Would I be more outgoing, more confident, more self-assured? I don't know. It kills me that I don't know.

But my favorite part of this video is the ending -- you can erase those regrets. Who says you can't follow your dream now? Why does that have to be a "not" regret instead of a reality? Who says you can't go to med school? It doesn't matter how old you are -- you can always start right now with a clean slate.

Who you are is made up of every aspect of your life -- what you did and what you didn't do, what you said and what you kept quiet about, the chances you took and the opportunities you didn't take. Don't let your life be made up of missed moments! Don't let those "not" regrets take over your whole life. Start now. Start today! Get out there and start living your life! Make poor decisions (sometimes you have to!) and say things no matter what people might think of you. Don't let another regret get added to your list because of something you didn't do or say; let another memory get added to your life of something you did do or did say, wise or not.

I still often think "What if I hadn't...?" I think it's kind of entertaining to wonder. But I'm tired of thinking "What if I had...?" Regrets like that are so useless, so unproductive, and so sad. Start with your clean slate today, and take a few chances. Who knows who you might become when you stop having so many regrets weighing you down?