Does anyone ever look back on high school and say, "I'd do everything exactly the same. No regrets?" I wouldn't. There would be lots of things that I would have done differently. Some that I would have done the same.
The reason this comes up is because I was part of an important high school ritual this evening...the high school formal dance.
My youngest friend, Kelley, prepared for her formal dance. First, I am very proud of Kelley for going against the idea of having a date and instead, going with a group of girlfriends. This is what I am talking about when I say "regrets". Kelley will probably have a terrific time with her girlfriends without the pressure to get along, spend time with, or entertain her date. My friend Amy and I often speak about how we should have gone to our senior prom together and leave our male dates at home. We would have had a better time.
My date was a former boyfriend who had started dating a new girl from school. So, he spent the entire night dancing with her. I actually did not mind because I just wanted to dance with my other friends and talk with people. Amy went with our friend, Rimon. This was fine, but it was probably like any other Saturday night out with friends...just better dressed.
My point in all of this, with my youngest friend, Kelley, I try to share with her my mediocre wisdom about high school. I am glad that she went to her dance without a boy. There is plenty of time for that...but, maybe people who never dated in high school regret not dating...maybe they wish they would have dated more people. I don't know. Maybe the grass is always greener.
There are many things that I do not regret about my high school experiences. I made the best friends in high school. I know this because they are still my closest friends.
Some might think it strange to write about this topic, but tonight as I watched Kelley take her pictures and show her anticipation for the evening, it got me thinking about those days and everything that goes with them.
3 comments:
Like you, there are many things that I do not regret about my high school experience. I am still friends with most of the friends I made then, but there are some things that I wish I could do over. The main thing that I would change is that I would have gotten more involved. I have never been very athletic, but I wish I would have given some sports a try. Maybe I would have found out that I would have been good at them. There are other things that I would do differently as well, but there's not much point to focusing on them as I have to live in the present and future. I can't change the past.
I also wish I had tried some sports in high school. Well, just one sport, actually - track. I'm not the most athletic person in the world, but I think I could have done pretty well at that. But like you two, while there are regrets, I don't worry about them too much. There will always be regrets, things you wish you had done differently. Living in the present and future is the way to go. However, as a dad I do look forward to the chance to help my kids not have the same regrets that I do. Of course, they'll probably have different ones! Heh.
I don't think your post was strange at all nor do I think you live in the past. Reflection is a must and necessary for growth.
I feel blessed in that I don't have any regrets in my life right now -- but I am so afraid I will muck that up by perhaps not having children! I don't have the drive but that doesn't give me the confidence I need to know I made the right decision :) You know?
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