To ask what you wish you did while you were young?

[wishingona]

I'm 24 and I keep getting the feeling that this is my time and I should be making more of it.

What do you wish you did while you were my age (not even sure 24 counts as young)?

Not traveled more, though. I guess I mean the more day to day stuff.

Any advice?

I've had a pension for years. Glad I sorted that early!!

I'm coming across very boring aren't I!?

I'd life is fab at 24 then that's great! What is it you want to do/change?

I'm not sure really. I am very lucky in that I have a job I enjoy, a husband I love and no money worries. I just feel there might be something I'm missing out on but I can't seem to find a middle ground between boring and all night raves! I love live music & sport and am travelling more within the UK now, I feel like I should be dying my hair bright purple or something...

Saved money. I moved to Barcelona when I was 25, great job, pissed it all up the wall

I gained job experience, life experience, great friends, great lessons learned, 2 languages... blah blah blah.

But we can't afford to buy and are still renting. Part of me thinks what a shame, part of me is glad when I see the problems friends have with their properties that we don't.

I met DH at 23 and don't wish I'd slept with more men. We have travelled extensively around Europe pre-child. No huge wish to travel more, although there are a couple of places I'd like to visit, but if I don't go there I'm ok with that.

I wish I'd worked abroad for a season.

But I don't regret any of the things I did do, and I don't wish my life today (40s) was any bit different to how it is. I'd just like to have had that experience to look back on I think.

Maybe new interests at the weekend? Or a new hobby or a new sport?

I wish I'd travelled more, had lots more sex, been a bit braver and believed in myself.

Travelled, not got married, not been fixated on buying a house and having loads of debt and high monthly payments to fund this, not had kids no young, had more sex with more people.

Oh god loads of things: dumped my first boyfriend when he cheated, lived in Paris, written a novel, lived in Barcelona, written a screenplay, lived in New York, worn all my nice clothes instead of saving for best, spent more time with my parents and had more children (although maybe not at 24)

Stuff I'm glad I did:

Travelled a lot.
Tried out a few careers, and didn't settle for the safe choice but gave myself a chance to follow my dreams
Didn't listen to all my friends who told me the scruffy kid who worked at the local fair was bad news and not a viable relationship prospect. Reader, I married him.
Dyed my hair blue.
Got a nose ring (and took it out).
Worked bloody hard at university and did my postgrad. Being a 'doctor' means no one has ever been able to call me stupid.
Got a tattoo. I still love it.

Stuff I wish I hadn't done:

Avoided seeing a psychiatrist and just struggled with MH issues.
Not spent much time with my family esp my mum who died when I was younger.

Stuff like all night raves is still possible in your 30s with children, but backpacking round the world would be much more tedious. I'm glad I did it once but I won't get another trip like that till I'm in my 50s and even then it won't be the same.

Moved abroad before I had children. Both from a personal perspective because I adored living abroad & from a career perspective.
Made the most of the freedom of child-free weekends, gone to the theatre/galleries etc. Getting drunk Friday night & lying on the sofa watching soccer Saturday/rugby/films etc was fun but ultimately in hindsight a criminal waste of time.

Like many pp i wish i had gone to uni for the career/ experience and wish i had shagged more men. I wish i had travelled more, especially to exotic places i am unlikely to ever see now. I did enjoy my youth alright, but i wish i had been a bit wilder.

Sometimes I wish I'd travelled more, gone backpacking etc. but on the other hand while some of my friends were off travelling I moved to a new city and met my OH/did my Post Grad etc. so it wasn't wasted time.

I'm glad I went away from home for university and made some amazing friends who I still see (and go on holiday with) now.

I wish I'd done Camp America when I was a student, I always wanted to but didn't for various reasons.

Agree with a pp who said about being a bit 'wilder', I wish I'd gone to raves etc. and had some more crazy nights. I had plenty of fun but I was always a bit on the sensible side.

This is really interesting. Loads and loads of us are saying I wish I had slept with more men. Pressure from soceity about what is ' right' for women? But thanks I thought I was the only one.

I am surprised too, Birds. It's not really something that's spoken about much and not a desire of mine but interesting to see how many say similar things.

I married my first proper boyfriend who i met in my teens so thats my excuse for not shagging more men.

The sleeping with more men bit - I see it as perhaps taking more opportunities when they arose rather than being on a mission to do so. That said, I think having a more satisfying sex life as you get older is more likely as a result of having had more partners.

Wish I'd started having children in my mid 20s. I thought it was a good idea to wait until 30s but unfortunately that meant I was only able to have one - and it turns out babies are brilliant fun. Why does no-one tell you that!

I agree Boiing , my biggest regret of all is that I only left myself enough time to have one child. On the other hand, I was very lucky to even manage that, all things considered.

I am glad I:

-lived and worked abroad
-had meaningless sex
-took drugs and had lots of fun
-I spent most weekends of my 20s (when I wasn't doing the above) running up fells solo in Cumbria and having an ace time. I still do it now in my 30s but as a youngster it was a great way of gaining independence and figuring out how far I could push myself

Most of you are way cooler than me.

I really do wished I'd travelled more, but on a more day to day basis, I wish I'd started a pension much earlier, got on the property ladder, and taken up exercise. Oh, and paid off my student loans earlier!

I had a great time in my twenties and had a good job, but I lived month to month and then turned around in my mid thirties to realise everyone had started doing all these sensible things way before me!

I've just realised what's been bothering me about my age lately:

When I was young enough to do stuff, I felt too young, not old enough to go somewhere, or apply for that job, or whatever. But now I realise I've gone too far the other way (35).

I didn't realise I was in the prime of my youth when I was. (I know I'm not exactly ancient now).

What made me think was seeing a clip of a young beautiful woman interviewing people on the red carpet at the BAFTAs or Grammys or something and thinking that she must be quite young to look that good, maybe mid-late 20s, and that even if I had been beautiful and connected enough to find myself with that opportunity I'd have considered myself too young and inexperienced to do it.

And now I find I'm too old, but still feeling "young" and inexperienced. Does that make sense?

I guess it's an inferiority complex of sorts. And I don't know how you could avoid or get over it. But I suppose my advice would be to recognise it, realise that 10 years down the line you'll probably still feel that way, so fuck it, do it anyway.

Sorry I've hijacked your thread for my own therapy!