Embracing Regret

Regret is something which no one is spared experiencing. No matter how fully we might try to live our lives, there will always be something we regret doing or more often not doing. Inevitably, we will encounter experiences we wish to have not had. Overall, I don’t have many regrets in my life. I’m happy with how my life has gone and the experiences Regret is something which no one is spared experiencing. No matter how fully we might try to live our lives, there will always be something we regret doing or more often not doing. Inevitably, we will encounter experiences we wish to have not had.

In her book “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”, J.K. Rowling beautifully illustrates this concept. The story is about the child of Harry Potter and the beginning of his education at Hogwarts. Both his parents were proud members of Gryfindor house, but the boy is sorted into Slythern house. He is conflicted about this decision and the implacations it holds for this future and reputation. His dad is quick to reassure him he is where he belongs and reminds him of great Sylthern House students who came before him. The plot of the novel is built on the premise of how our lives work out the way they are intended because of the events and decisions we make along the way. At the conclusion of the book, the reader is left with the realization all of the outcomes in our life are only possible because of the path our life takes. Change one detail, and everything about our lives are different. We could miss key events and people by our life deviating from it’s path.

I don’t have many regrets in life. Overall, I am happy with the path my life took and how my life is today. There are difficulties and tragedies I wish I had not gone through but when I look back on them, I learned something from each one. I like to think they helped shape me into the person I am today.

“I do believe in the old saying, 'What does not kill you makes you stronger.' Our experiences, good and bad, make us who we are. By overcoming difficulties, we gain strength and maturity..” Angelina Jolie

Regrets Of My Youth

My limited list of regrets are of experiences I did not have. Many of my best childhood memories are a result of participation in 4-H. As a 4-Her, I tried many contests and competitions. Some became a regular part of my 4-H repertoire. Some of the contests I found to not be to my liking and they fell by the way side. One contest I did not enjoy and never wanted to do again was Horse Judging. I was a horse crazy kid and felt this would fit well with my interests. On this, I could not have been more wrong. It was a very technical contest and I found it be be extremely boring. Once was enough for me to figure out it was not something I wanted to do.

“I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.” Lucille Ball

A regret I have from my time in 4-H is having only participated in Dairy Cattle judging once. It was a perfect fit for me, suiting my interests perfectly. The reason I only did it once was because of a conflict with another project. In my final year in 4-H, I decided to give it a shot because I had nothing to lose. I had little experience with judging dairy cattle but I have always had a natural eye for judging dairy animals, with a background in dairy goats. This experience was bittersweet for me. I satisfied my curiosity and at the same time gave me pangs of regret as I would not be able to experience it again.

Failure To Succeed

After I left my 4-H years behind and moved toward adulthood, my life started to take a different direction. I started college and considered what I wanted to do. This path would not be straight or easy. Even in this part of my life, I took an unconventional approach. After obtaining my GED, I enrolled at the community college and rediscovered my love for all things writing.

Education is an area of my life which has been inconsistent. There have been many obstacles along the way. At different times in my life, I’ve had to put my education on hold to attend to other parts of my life. My health as added another layer of complication as it has often been an obstacle in different ways. It took me an unusual long time to complete my associates degree, then I didn’t know how to proceed. Online seemed to be the route which suited my situation best but due to other circumstance, I did not complete my online studies.

Not completing my degree is a regret which has grown stronger over the years, as I grown older and watched my friends graduate, get jobs and start families. At times, it has felt like while their lives have moved forward mine is always standing still.

“Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success.”

Louisa May Alcott

My second big regret from my young adult years is not pursuing a career in the medical field. From an early age I have had a calling to help people. I wanted to go to medical school and become an anesthesiologist. In highschool, I geared my education toward my intention to go into medicine. Originally, I thought I wanted to go into nursing, following in my Aunt’s footsteps, but the more I considered it, the more I realized I did not want to go into nursing. During a medical procedure, I met an exceptional anestesiologist made an impression on me and he inspired me to pursue a similar path.

A difficulty in advanced math took away some of my desire and eventually the dream fell by the way side as life moved on. Not pursuing a career in medicine will always be one of my biggest regrets to haunt me. For the rest of my life, I will regret not establishing myself in a career is something I still give myself a hard time. I have reached an age where I feel I have wasted my life, intelligence and potential by not having a career which enabled me to make a difference in the world and help people.

Regret can be difficult to live with. As much as we would like to change our past, undo our mistakes. Success is not measured the same way for everyone, and we have find what it means for us. A college degree does not alway equal a successful life. We don’t all have to follow the same path in life to be considered successful or make a difference in the world. Understanding this helps reduce the effect of regret in our lives.

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.” Booker T. Washington