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If you could go back..

kyuuei

Emperor/Dictator
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Aug 28, 2008
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I don't think I would have changed the military--but I do think I should have gone Air Force, and I would have picked a career that translated better into the civilian side of things... So that when I got out I'd have a fancy job.
 

IndigoViolet11

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Apr 28, 2016
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125
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I need a completely new life complete free from and forgotten by my family and friends. Not because I particulatly hate them, it is just that we are so different that we cannot blend, harder and harder each minute. The things I have studied and learned no longer win their approval, and everything I do only meets objection. Meanwhile, as a result, im totally stuck

If this really did come true, I will be free to go to school if i have to, and study again.
 

SurrealisticSlumbers

📠girl in an 🎠world
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I was actually just thinking of this the other day.

I attended a well-regarded, "second-tier" institution. I'm grateful for the education I received there; however, in retrospect, it may not have been the best fit for me. Demographically speaking, I fit in, being white and female (the school used to be an all-women's college) - but in other respects, not so much. I'd already attended community college, and by the time I enrolled at this school, I was just a couple years older than most everyone there, already in the workforce holding down a job, and didn't reside on campus. I never advertised my age or that I was a transfer student, but being a tiny liberal arts college where everyone knew everyone, word did get around as I was this new junior in their midst, and I didn't have the sort of rapport with people that comes with on-campus living.

There was another school not too far down the road from the one I ended up going to, which I'd briefly considered applying to. It was/is an art and design college (as opposed to liberal arts) that would have probably been a better "culture fit," and most likely have had a more unconventional, diverse student body. At that school, the percentage of students residing on campus is smaller, meaning that if I'd gone there I most likely wouldn't have been viewed as much of an outsider, and other students might not have given two shits that I'd transferred my credits. I dunno... hard to say. I was, admittedly, a more offbeat, though reserved student who needed an environment where that was more of the norm. (I feel like it's pretty much a given that everyone at art college is probably pretty fucking weird). Though the school I went to is deemed pretty liberal, and touts its involvement in a lot of progressively-minded causes, I was privy to a sort of elitist, highbrow aura of stuffiness from fellow students and disappointingly, some of the faculty, who possessed what might be described as a "parlor pink" mindset that I found distasteful. So, I do have some regrets over not - at the very least - applying to that other school... Could've, should've, would've.

As to my choice of major, that's a tough call. I think I could have managed to excel at studio art, and might have enjoyed sinking my teeth into environmental science and perhaps even minoring in it, as I love botany and the natural world. In my last semester, I had room in my schedule for two studio art classes, both of which I got a lot out of, and I felt more in-tune with the students in those classes. So, maybe that major would have suited me better than theatre. It's also too bad that I didn't get the chance to study upper-level sciences such as physics and astronomy (as a kid, I loved reading about all the constellations and had glow-in-the-dark planets and stars adorning my bedroom ceiling).

Still, I think college is what you make of it, and the experiences both good and bad contribute to your own self-awareness. I did feel a sense of accomplishment upon getting my degree in the mail. It justified all of the struggles of those four semesters. Though things could have been better, I also know from hearing the stories of others who've had nightmarish experiences with their colleges, that it could've been way, way worse.
 

highlander

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I would have been one of the first 5 employees at Google
 

Firebird 8118

DJ Phoenix
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If I could go back... I would’ve chosen computer science much sooner than decoding to follow in my dad’s footsteps as an engineer. Although, if it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have discovered my passion for programming at all. Sooo... :D

Also, I would’ve worked harder as a student instead of procrastinating on most of my homework out of fear and anxiety. :blush:

Oh, and I would’ve continued my piano lessons instead of stopping after 12 years old.
 

Shadow Play

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Joined
Oct 28, 2018
Messages
236
It was the decisions I made that brought me to where I'm at today. I'm now in a good place with a promising future ahead of me, having figured out what I actually want to do for a career, as well as having clearer priorities of what matters in my life. Yes, mistakes were made, and there are things I would've preferred to do differently if I had the chance, but I wouldn't have learned the lessons I learned or acquired the knowledge I have now. In fact, I'd probably have avoided making some of those decisions in the first place had I foreseen the outcome, and in doing so, missed out on some valuable opportunities.
 

Tina&Jane

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Maybe choosing psychology from the start instead of biology.
 

DragonKing

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I would have done more freelance work and looked into starting my own firm.
 

Smilephantomhive

Active member
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Not take film senior year of hs, and take programming instead, take ap calc ab instead of buisness calc.

For college I wish I didnt burn out, and hit less addicted to social media. My advisor got me to take essentially the same chem class twice so that sucked.
 

tinker683

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I majored in what I enjoy most - Computer Information Technology. My regret is not that, it's that I feel like I gave it up too quickly.

See, when I got out of college, I started out in IT for my parents real estate firm working under the IT director. He was a smart guy, but he had a temper, and he blew up on me one time because apparently I took the intiative when I shouldn't have and ended up causing a whole lot of problems.

I was young, insecure, afraid of conflict, and DEATHLY afraid of hurting my parents business, so I stopped working there after that. I transferred over to the admin side and found I had a knack for that and...the rest is history.

I wish I had been tougher. I wish I hadn't given up and stuck with it. I love working on and with computers and I've tried to do some Lynda.com courses for some programming languages and such (I used to do a lot with HTML and CSS and really loved that). The problem is that given how much my career now takes up my time, there is always this feeling of, "Why am I doing this again? This has nothing to do with my current career and things are good"

I've been told I'm good at my current job but...I'm not just passionate about it. I enjoy learning about the properties and the homes themselves but... that's pretty much where it ends.
 

Sundae

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id either go into music from the start, or stay in computers but become a professor instead of a career programmer
 
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I was just talking about this the other night with a friend, about how originally I had intended to do an MBBS/PhD, but because my parents didn't approve, instead I studied science. Still ended up with the PhD, but one of the things that.. I wouldn't say regret, but that I still wonder "what if" about is the MBBS.

My friend reckons that given my personality, work ethic, and need to improve systems, that I would've been bored with practicing medicine and would've decided to leave anyway. She thinks I would've still gotten on to the same path that I'm currently on, regardless. But it's hard to say. Looking back, I really don't regret any of my decisions, because I made them given the options available at that time, and got a lot out of everything that I did. Nothing's perfect, and if I hadn't made the mistakes that I did, perhaps I wouldn't have found what I wanted to do, or gained the self-confidence to actually chase my dreams.
 

mgbradsh

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Nov 6, 2008
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317
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I wish I had done an MGIS degree after my initial degree. I love maps so much.

I was told I would never make any money with that degree so it wasn't worth doing. That was 2002, before anything like Google Maps existed and between that and all the other mapping that's happened since then, I probably could have made some money - doing something I enjoy immensely.

That or Art History.
 

Cellmold

Wake, See, Sing, Dance
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
6,266
Not being born with asthma and epilepsy that tarred my childhood and contributed to my slow and poor development.

PS: Not that there aren't much worse situations and conditions, but they prevented me from doing a great deal at the time.
 

julesiscools

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Dec 5, 2016
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I don't really believe in looking back and saying, "Oh, I'd do this differently...." BUT, if I could be Indiana Jones, I would.
 

Snow as White

ƃuıǝǝs | seeing
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i would have set myself up into a real career instead of flitting from art thing to art thing. either that or been more willing to just jump in 100% and be fine with drowning. as it is i am too much of a half jumper, half standing on the cliff forever seeking the void to really have committed one way or the other.

now that i am older and possibly wiser trying to revert course is much more difficult than the better fluidity of being young and unattached and with no real strings on my limbs yet.

so would have gone into health care with the goal of being someone with autonomy and knowledge together. as it was, i was unprepared for such a commitment when i was younger and now that i have more belief and understanding of myself it is better. although i would probably still go back and make the same whimiscal mistakes chasing my internal willowisp that i did the first time.
 

Luigi

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I've made more mistakes than I can count. If I could go back in time and change anything . . . I have no idea what I'd do differently.
 

NiTech

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Electrical Engineering.

I only didn't pursue it because I was forced to spend most of my childhood-adolescence in a rural dead end area with a top tier worst education system & job market...especially in terms of technical oriented work.

I have plans to go back to my school for Electrical Engineering as a "non-traditional student" sometime by my early 30s, though. It's becoming more common trend these days anyway.
 

1487610420

Permabanned
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
6,431
Electrical Engineering.

I only didn't pursue it because I was forced to spend most of my childhood-adolescence in a rural dead end area with a top tier worst education system & job market...especially in terms of technical oriented work.

I have plans to go back to my school for Electrical Engineering as a "non-traditional student" sometime by my early 30s, though. It's becoming more common trend these days anyway.

OCW Course Index | MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials
 

laintpe

Summer
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Dec 9, 2008
Messages
635
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i would have set myself up into a real career instead of flitting from art thing to art thing. either that or been more willing to just jump in 100% and be fine with drowning. as it is i am too much of a half jumper, half standing on the cliff forever seeking the void to really have committed one way or the other. now that i am older and possibly wiser trying to revert course is much more difficult than the better fluidity of being young and unattached and with no real strings on my limbs yet. so would have gone into health care with the goal of being someone with autonomy and knowledge together. as it was, i was unprepared for such a commitment when i was younger and now that i have more belief and understanding of myself it is better. although i would probably still go back and make the same whimiscal mistakes chasing my internal willowisp that i did the first time.
I would have gone for the art thing to art thing deal. Trying to do some of it now, but time is more scarce than it was in undergrad.
 
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