I don’t know. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but all of them have made me stronger. I’m still 16, I have lots of time.
[quote]Dweezil wrote:
Travel: Do it. Do it when you’re young, do it when you’re old, take kids along if you have them, take friends along if they’re receptive. Don’t stop doing it just because you’re “too busy”. Don’t go to the same place every Summer. Forget the internships in college- travel.
Not to sound like a greeting card, but life is short, and the world is big. You don’t know shit until you experience places you’ve never seen before.
Entertainment: Reading is fundamental! The written word is the single greatest invention in the history of man (although electricity was up there in importance, and I have a special place in my heart for the internal combustion engine), and to ignore it is to be ignorant and useless for the rest of your life. If you spend more time watching television than reading you should be euthanized.
[/quote]
Both points are very true…whenever I bring these points up to people I’m always reminded of that oliver wendell holmes quote “your mind once stretched by an idea can never return to its original dimension” I find that reading and traveling have this affect…
Also, I noticed for the most part, people who have had regrets about their past always tried to play it safe. Most of their decisions in life centers around security…again I’m reminded of a quote this one by Helen keller:
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature,
nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits
in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.
Can someone please explain what’s wrong with engineers? I am going to graduate from chemical engineering in a year and I know that its gonna suck but it is gonna be that bad? Are their any other options for me like using my degree for something else?
Oh yeah Im 21 and definitely agree with the
ideas about travel and getting as many women as possible. Thats pretty much the only serious regrets older men would have.
As long a you’re financially stable then everything will work itself out.
[quote]Dweezil wrote:
If you spend more time watching television than reading you should be euthanized.
[/quote]
Quoted for truth. The only regrets I have are that I should have stopped watching TV and playing video games a little younger. Other than that, I’m very pleased so far due to the fact that I’ve always made the most of what I have and been very independent.
Biggest mistake I’ve seen my male friends make is getting too worried about women, relationships, and getting laid at a young age while allowing it to consume a lot of their free time and youth.
If someone is old and the only regret they have is that they didn’t get laid and party more often, then they aren’t very wise. There’s nothing wrong with going out and having fun, but after a certain age it just seems childish.
[quote]Majin wrote:
If you could go back? How about going fucking forward and stop wasting your time on silly impossible things?
There’s no point telling people to use their youth wisely. “Oh if I could go back with my current knowledge…blah, piss, bitch”. Well you can’t. That’s the whole cracking point of youth - gaining experience by making mistakes early.
I’d tell that old guy “Yeah, captain Scleroso? Don’t tell me nobody tried to inform you to use YOUR youth wisely. But did you listen? Beat it you old sock!”[/quote]
i think the point was “live you life fully” not use it wisely. if people with experience never gave advice to those without experience then each generation would be reinventing the wheel.
i do however understand from my own experience, how hard it is to choose passion over security, especially when the security involves the comfort of a well paying, stable job, and a beautiful girlfriend (in my case). it’s scary to say. “money, baby, nice life, I’m going to LA to persue music and be poor til i achieve my goal”
in the long run, it may be a better story. more of an adventure.
I was going to write about something I regretted, but all the mistakes lead to what I have now, and I am happy.
I was going to write about how I wasted my senior year of college because I dated some chick who turned out to be a _______(insert explicit noun here) but it was because of that break up that led me to competing for the first time this spring.
I needed something to take my mind off of it, and now it has made me stronger and pushed me to step on stage.
It also made me realize how young I am (23) and that I have many other girls to meet AND ALSO showed me who my true friends are. On top of all of that, it let me spend more time with my family.
Always try turning a negative into a positive.
[quote]realt81 wrote:
Can someone please explain what’s wrong with engineers? I am going to graduate from chemical engineering in a year and I know that its gonna suck but it is gonna be that bad? Are their any other options for me like using my degree for something else?
[/quote]
Since I was the first to mention this, I will respond. Look, there is nothing wrong with engineering per se.
However,
a lot of people do engineering because they might be pretty good at math and it offers a secure future economically.
Those people’s hearts are not into it.
I was/am one of those people and, for those people, engineering sucks the soul right out of your bone marrow on a daily basis. As I get older, I see that I am surrounded by a bunch of people who are turning into the computers that they work on.
Of course, corporate culture does not help matters any. Corporate culture tends to turn people into drones…and those who dont become drones become bitter as hell like me 
That said, for people who are passionate about it, it’s a good career choice. So, it’s not just engineering that is the culprit; it’s any career that doesn’t turn you on.
[quote]realt81 wrote:
Can someone please explain what’s wrong with engineers? I am going to graduate from chemical engineering in a year and I know that its gonna suck but it is gonna be that bad? Are their any other options for me like using my degree for something else?
[/quote]
I am a Chem E. It is can be the least flexible of the engineering disciplines but it is also respected as one of the most difficult so it is possible to cross over into other disciplines. Jack Welch, former CEO of GE was a Chem E. He didn’t let it limit him.
Finish strong and try to figure out what you want to do. You can always do grad school. Good luck.
I am 40. I had a lot of women and I partied pretty hard. I wish I would have settled earlier and had kids earlier.
[quote]
As long a you’re financially stable then everything will work itself out. [/quote]
Financial stability is very nice. It certainly eases some stress but life throws you many curves.
If I could go back I would tell the skinny sad kid I used to be to cheer up and enjoy life.
I would pump him up, make him feel like a champion and unleash him on the world.
My parents were very negative people and I went through school always feeling like I couldn’t do things. I wish I worked harder academically and competed harder in sport.
But I still seem to be in a good position now. I just wish I could’ve gotten here a bit sooner with some better grades under my belt.
I have been thinking about this topic quite a bit and if I could go back would I take the same path in life.
I don’t really know. It is a big world with more to see and do than is possible in multiple lifetimes.
I think the usual cliches apply. Stay in school, don’t get addicted to drugs, stop and smell the roses. Give love to receive love.
I would never of dropped out of the vocational tech high school I was at freshmen year. I would of learned a good trade and never bothered with college.
I’d have a lot more money saved right now, enough to pay for a small condo, and the skills to earn a decent living.
I’m not that bad off, partly because I got my act together this past year and worked and saved, although school has gone down the tube now. I’ll get my associates in general studies, woohoo, while my friends are getting bachelor degrees.
I also would of never let myself get close to the last girl I was with. Nearly 3 months since it ended and it’s still fucking me up.
I’ve decided to start doing more things I really want to do, not what I’m suppose to do. I’m going to move to California, and take another break from school, at least until I figure out what it is I really want to do.
I’ve quit so many things these past 8 years, all starting with that tech HS. But I’ve stuck with a few things that feel right to me, although no one agrees with me.
[quote]KiloSprinter wrote:
I’ve quit so many things these past 8 years, all starting with that tech HS. But I’ve stuck with a few things that feel right to me, although no one agrees with me.[/quote]
Yeah but what do they know? If i’d listened to my mother I’d be an engineer right now, driving a bmw into the city everyday and hating every minute of my life.
I just wish I’d woken up earlier and followed my young dreams instead of letting myself be told what to do.
Do what makes you happy man. That can never go wrong.
what would you do if were transported back to NOW from the end of your life? how would you live from this moment on, faced with your own mortality?
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
I have been thinking about this topic quite a bit and if I could go back would I take the same path in life.
I don’t really know. It is a big world with more to see and do than is possible in multiple lifetimes.
I think the usual cliches apply. Stay in school, don’t get addicted to drugs, stop and smell the roses. Give love to receive love.
[/quote]
i agree with most of what you said. exept the stay in school part. it seems like in those formative years of youth, this is grooming us to do what everyone elce is doing.
im wondering if school is really what we need in order to live a full life. education is important but i know a few highly schooled unhappy people who we’re herded down a path without their awareness.
but i’m a weirdo when it comes to that stuff. all anit-establishment and stuff. i think school’s fine if it’s following your passion. all i know is that once you start making alot of money, “security” becomes a forefront player in all your life decisions.
before you know it you are financially safe and living a mediocre and boring life. which was the initial feeling i was left with when i talked to the old guy.
im not even talking about “partying endlessly and fucking as many girls a s possible”. I don’t think that will make someone happy in the long run. i mean, what is it that makes someone “fully alive”?
as opposed to walking through their life in a half awake state, then waking up in their final years full of regret.
on the other hand “living each day as if it’s your last” could leave someone financially ignorant and homeless i suppose. and i dont know many truly happy homeless people.
thoughts?
If I could do it all over again? I’d probably just try and avoid talking to old men on buses.
[quote]DS 007 wrote:
If I could do it all over again? I’d probably just try and avoid talking to old men on buses.[/quote]
wow