if you could go back to when you were 21, would you.

Specialun

so im in my early 30s and i had this debate with a few lads yesterday at work. if you could go back to when you were 21 would you do it and do things differently.

overall i dont think i would. i regret not doing the oz travelling and perhaps should have done more “damage” with the women in college but id say thats about it.

gifted

Oh yes..yes .yes .yes..

Very much would have done so lot of things differently....work...move out of family home much younger......travelled a lot more....

beertons

Cover my flute, didn't like her music

Dravokivich

Nope.

buried

No way

Yes. I'd be younger and less likely to die.

The_Valeyard

beertons wrote: »

Cover my flute, didn't like her music

Std?

bucketybuck

So I'd be basically the same person I am now, except younger, fitter, healthier, will have fantastic opportunity to easily make a hell of a lot of money and effectively extended my lifespan by over 15 years?

I'd be nuts not to.

Surreptitious

I wouldn't mind my looks back.

ToddyDoody

Specialun wrote: »

so im in my early 30s and i had this debate with a few lads yesterday at work. if you could go back to when you were 21 would you do it and do things differently.

overall i dont think i would. i regret not doing the oz travelling and perhaps should have done more “damage” with the women in college but id say thats about it.

In my case, I don't think I had a choice in many ways. I was still very much 'in development' in my 20s and life kind of happened me rather than me deciding life.

B.A._Baracus

It's a hard question to answer because let us say you could magically turn back the clock tomorrow. Would you still know what you do now or just be 21 again with the mental maturity slate clean?

Cause you'll just end up doing the same things you did.

professore

Yep for sure. And I'd rule the world. Not that I regret my 20s, but I know so much now that I didn't then.

Infernum

I'm a month and two weeks away from turning 21, so uhh... I'll have to get back to ya on that one.

Wish me luck, because being 20 has been enough of a nightmare.

ChikiChiki

Yes, I would have left a toxic home life earlier than wasting so much energy trying to get an alcoholic person to seek help who clearly didn't want it. It took me until I was 29 to realise I needed to get away from it and escaped. I'd say most of my 20s were consumed by the energy I had to give to that person.

Depressing when I think of it. One saving grace is that I spent so much time on work to escape which has led me to be in the good situation I'm in today but still.

I will never get those years back and I would love to turn back the clock. :-(

B.A._Baracus

Infernum wrote: »

I'm a month and two weeks away from turning 21, so uhh... I'll have to get back to ya on that one.

Wish me luck, because being 20 has been enough of a nightmare.

Want some advice?

What ever you want to do do it in your 20s otherwise when you hit 30 you will start feeling old.

On that subject tho I do belive age is all about prospective. A 30 year old can start feeling old but go speak to a 50 year and they'll tell you how old you really are :pac:

everlast75

Probably change my career choice.

Other than that, I think I'm good

Tokyo

Definitely yes.

PandaPoo

No, definitely not. I was engaged when I was 21 and married soon after. Wouldn't change it for the world.

I have a funny relationship with ageing but I'm really not sure. It certainly was a wonderful feeling to have the whole world open in front of me and my life like a blank canvas. I remember how exciting it all was. Mind you it's a matter of attitude and I could say the same about myself today, that a great adventure awaits

Oops69

The boards website looked better back then..... something’s gone stale

JohnnyFlash

Definitely. Had moved to London looking for work and was up to me balls in English fanny most weekends.

TerrorFirmer

Probably, but mainly to treat certain people a whole lot better than I did. I'm pretty OK with being the age I am now and being a better/more mature person!

cbyrd

No, I am who I am (i sang that in my head) because of my experiences, good and bad. The knowledge I have now is because I didn't leave home earlier or leave my toxic family job sooner, I have a great bullsh!t detector and an understanding of people.
I would however like to tell my younger self to have more confidence that I'm much better at what I do than I'm lead to believe.

I'd be scared that if I got a do over I wouldn't have my kids, (that was worth the sh!tty marriage) but if I went back without the knowledge, I wouldn't know any different, so would it matter.. ?
19 was my year, that's how old I feel in my head.

somefeen

No.

Im 29 now and I don't feel physically any older. Maybe look a bit older but I'm not that bummed about turning 30 even though it feels like the whole world thinks I should.

I did spend most of my twenties far away from my family and I do kind of regret that. I wish I'd spent more time with my parents but I'm back living with them at the moment so kinda makes up for it.

malinheader

Definitely yes. And head away this time.

JupiterKid

Perhaps. I had a fantastic summer in San Francisco when I was 21 and flung open my closet doors over there. Life was fun - it was college days - and pretty carefree and full of new experiences although I was a bit homesick and I’m a worrier anyway.

But I knew a lot less about life and people at 21 - I was very idealistic and not a little naive. And a bit gullible too.

My life has gone in twists and turns since then - my career took off between 23 and 33 - and although things have been very rocky since my early 30s with mental health and alcohol dependency issues, I’m now back on the right road as I rapidly approach the grand old age of 43.

So to answer, yes to being 21 again, but only for a week or two. I’m much wiser and far more mature now.

Jeju

Had a great time in my early 20s, always regretted not sticking to playing ball but was impossible when I would be still out from the night before, then again slot of lads who played it back thenare crippled who stuck at it while I still enjoy the 5 a side

HalloweenJack

Yes and no.

If I could go back to 21 knowing what I know now, I would, but if I could go back to being 21 and thus erasing all my experience in the years between, I wouldn't.

blindside88

Im 29 and overall I’m very happy with my life (except for the fact I’m sitting in a dentists waiting room about to have a tooth pulled). I would however go back to when I was 21 and put the money I got for my 21st birthday into bitcoin. Hold it until early December 2017. Sell it and become a billionaire. Other than that I’d still have made 90% of my life choices the same up to this point

brevity

Hmmm...

I'd certainly stand up for myself more and generally not let my stupid mind interfere with my ambitions.

Outlaw Pete

Yes.

Missed an episode of Eastenders and it's always bugged me.

tea and coffee

HalloweenJack wrote: »

Yes and no.

If I could go back to 21 knowing what I know now, I would, but if I could go back to being 21 and thus erasing all my experience in the years between, I wouldn't.

Exactly this. Otherwise it'd likely be the same outcome.

doolox

I would be a lot more employable and in a steady job now if I had done so.

In my opinion a comprehensive and fluent knowledge of Maths, software and low level coding is essential for a worthwhile job in electronics in Ireland nowadays and I do not have that ability.

I am not an abstract thinker.

Most junior level jobs insist on a time served apprenticeship in a recognised trade or they won't touch you.

The alternative is a degree ( level 8 , 4 yrs ) or Masters in a relevant discipline in order to have sign off powers which is where the real money and responsibility lie.

I have tried twice to get up to degree level in my career and failed due to being abysmally slow at maths and being unable to code.

Thats what I would do differently.

DoozerT6

HalloweenJack wrote: »

Yes and no.

If I could go back to 21 knowing what I know now, I would, but if I could go back to being 21 and thus erasing all my experience in the years between, I wouldn't.

This. In fact, if I could wind it back a few more years to 17 when I was doing my LC, with the wisdom I have now, I would do that. Oh, how I would do things differently.

bucketybuck

HalloweenJack wrote: »

Yes and no.

If I could go back to 21 knowing what I know now, I would, but if I could go back to being 21 and thus erasing all my experience in the years between, I wouldn't.

I really don't get why so many people feel the need to clarify this point.

The question is completely and utterly meaningless unless you go back knowing that you went back.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Yep! I’d still have my dad for 4 years at 21.

sunbeam

I might do some things differently but I'm not sure if my life would have turned out much better or happier in the long run. Ultimately I would still be the same person regardless of the road taken.

Having said that, I wish I could tell my 21 year old self that prestige doesn't necessarily equate with happiness-and also that my dad would be dead in two years.

I wish I could tell myself to stop agonising about career paths not chosen and job offers not accepted-especially that 'dream job' interview where I was treated like ****. As difficult as they were, in hindsight they were the right decisions.

I'm sure if my 90 year old self could come back to 45 year old me now she would tell myself to cop myself on, that I'm not old and life is still there to be lived. And it is far too short to be putting up with the crap I'm getting from various people. But the certainty of hindsight is far easier to accept than the unpredictability of foresight, so even if she did, I'm not sure if I would listen to her.

biko

I was travelling a lot so yeah I'd like to go back. Happy times.

erica74

So do you mean go back to being 21 and reliving my life as it was when I was 21 with the inability to change anything or starting over again? I'm not sure either way to be honest.

LadyMacBeth_

I don't know to be honest, I'd avoid some mistakes alright but I'd rather start from 0 or maybe my early teens, as most of my poor decisions were a lot earlier than 21. I don't have regrets as such but with the knowledge I have now I could go back and not put up with the utter shyte I did put up with. Maybe if I could go back and avoid that then I would have been in a better place mentally to look after myself physically and then my health might be better now than it is. My mental health might be better now too. But you never know, I could go back and get knocked down by a car!

freshpopcorn

Well seeing that I'm 26 now going back to 21 wouldn't make much a difference to me.
If I was 15 again and be a little more confident around people and I wouldn't be as nice to a few teachers in school.

sunbeam

LadyMacBeth_ wrote: »

I don't know to be honest, I'd avoid some mistakes alright but I'd rather start from 0 or maybe my early teens, as most of my poor decisions were a lot earlier than 21. I don't have regrets as such but with the knowledge I have now I could go back and not put up with the utter shyte I did put up with. Maybe if I could go back and avoid that then I would have been in a better place mentally to look after myself physically and then my health might be better now than it is. My mental health might be better now too. But you never know, I could go back and get knocked down by a car!

I've always wished I could go back and convince my dad not to start smoking, so he wouldn't have died from small cell lung cancer. But as you've said, then maybe one day instead of going into the newsagents to buy cigarettes, he would have been knocked down by a bus and never have met my mother...

dasdog

I was broke and living in a caravan in Holland when I was 21. Drugs and beer took priority over food. They were great times but I made a decision to knuckle down career wise. Timing was great with the tech sector booming for twenty years since. My grand master plan is to return to a hedonistic pursuit if I manage to retire early.

cbyrd

Faith Quaint Mural wrote:

Yep! I’d still have my dad for 4 years at 21.

sunbeam wrote:

I've always wished I could go back and convince my dad not to start smoking, so he wouldn't have died from small cell lung cancer. But as you've said, then maybe one day instead of going into the newsagents to buy cigarettes, he would have been knocked down by a bus and never have met my mother...

I could convince my dad to eat healthier so he wouldn't get type 2 diabetes and eventually cancer. But that's going back with the knowledge I have now.

I was thinking about it this afternoon, I've been separated 5 years, if I went back to 21, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't be able to look at my ex never mind try for 4 kids it'd be a bit fcuked up.
Not knowing any different.. well it'd be likely I'd do the same stuff again.. it'd be a waste of a do over.. lol