1- I'd have majored in something specific
2- I'd have been a little more of a bitch when people weren't my friends.
3- I'd have walked up to each professor after my first day of class and said, "Hi, I'm Lauren, and I want to make an A in your class."
4- I'd have eaten at Mitch's Tavern more than East Village.
5- I'd have sold all my stuff on Craigslist when I moved instead of throwing it away.
6- Learned to fish sooner.
7- Tried to make more of a difference in my community.

You learn a lot in your 20s....I wonder what you learn in your 30s.

7/9/2012 9:42:25 PM

You learn that youth is wasted on the young.

7/9/2012 9:44:31 PM

8- [REDACTED]

7/9/2012 9:44:47 PM

I don't know what you learn in your 30s, but life changes a lot. Even if you don't have a child, a lot of your friends around the same age will. That results in less parties and trips to the bar. Seeing the family tree grow is exciting, but it causes life to change a lot.

[Edited on July 9, 2012 at 9:52 PM. Reason : .]

7/9/2012 9:47:48 PM

i would have drank less and not given anyone the benefit of the doubt. ever.

7/9/2012 11:09:13 PM

You learn that people in their 30s are just as immature as people in their 20s. And that 30 is the new 20.

oh...and

9- 50% of your friends who got married in their 20s and had kids and you were jealous of them, now they're divorced with kids and a shitty ex

7/9/2012 11:16:07 PM

Haha lots of truth in that

7/9/2012 11:42:11 PM

wow DJ im actually pleased with this thread

7/9/2012 11:46:01 PM

I played the hand I was given.

7/10/2012 12:53:37 AM

I already made this thread

7/10/2012 1:15:26 AM

I like the comment about how now they're divorced w/ kids....it made me laugh out loud. I'm glad I waited until I was 29 to get married because I learned so much about myself during my 20s as a single woman. It ain't easy! And unfortunately, I always feel a little sad for the women who get married so early in their 20s that they never get to experience flying on their own...Independence is a real satisfaction. Maybe having a baby is, too....but....c'mon- you've got plenty of time for that.

Anyway...all the ladies out there under 25- why rush marriage? Slow your roll. You're not the same person you're going to be when you're 30. I can almost guarantee it, unless you're Mormon or one of those Amish people. Even if you have a true prince of a BF...if he's a real prince (and a real man), he'll want to hold off on marriage too.

7/10/2012 11:13:10 AM

all of my core group of friends are either married, expecting their firstborn, or engaged with a wedding this year. and we are all 26-27.

i'm the only one that's not, though I am in a LTR and live with my girlfriend. But marriage nor parenthood are anywhere close on my radar. it boggles my mind at times. i'm thankful they're all nice people that i truly care about. but even as i get older and slow down on my late nights and sleeping around i'm still not ready for those things.

7/10/2012 11:31:54 AM

If I had married who I was dating when I was first starting college I guarantee I'd be divorced by now.

7/10/2012 11:33:19 AM

Quote :

"1- I'd have majored in something specific"

Exact opposite here. I busted my ass for a degree that has got me nothing but being able to answer "Yes" when applications ask me if I have a B.S. I would have majored in something much easier.

[Edited on July 10, 2012 at 11:35 AM. Reason : a]

7/10/2012 11:34:59 AM

^^^you live with your long-term girlfriend but you still sleep around?

surely you did not mean that. i must have read that wrong.

7/10/2012 11:38:15 AM

^lol, yeah it's just worded backwards. long nights and sleeping around are over, in LTR, but still not ready for the next step. nowhere close.


i would have studied abroad

slept with a girl after every party or night out, even if she was a 5 and i knew better

never tried a long distance relationship during my sophmore and junior year

ate at Mitch's more. ate around Raleigh more.

7/10/2012 11:39:07 AM

i also wish i had studied abroad

7/10/2012 12:04:37 PM

i would've worked harder instead of changing to an easier major.

7/10/2012 12:23:24 PM

I'd do it all again

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

[Edited on July 10, 2012 at 12:24 PM. Reason : ^I thought you were like mechanical or something]

7/10/2012 12:24:26 PM

I would like to have studied abroad...but I couldn't afford it. Once I moved out of the dorms, my outside source of funds dried and I had to work my final three years.

I wish I had a done things differently in law school to set myself up for better employment, but I don't know if it would have made a difference with this shitty economy...and I'm glad I worked during because I saved up a ton of money.

I wish I hadn't dated that shitty girl that lived in Wilmington during my senior year and chased around some poon-tang. But I more than made up for it in my mid-20s.

So all in all...I don't really think I would have changed much.

7/10/2012 12:26:56 PM

I would have worked harder at not being shy in high school and college. I would have worn more fitted clothing, styled my hair, and put on makeup, instead of trying to blend in all the time.

7/10/2012 12:27:42 PM

I would've deferred, although i wanted to do it back then but my parents wouldn't let me.

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

7/10/2012 12:28:50 PM

I wish I would have done business instead of mechanical engineering.

it sounds badass to be an engineer but this isn't the life i want. I am getting my MBA to go into more of a business role.

7/10/2012 1:47:04 PM

I would have probably been a little nicer

7/10/2012 3:16:56 PM

Quote :

"I would like to have studied abroad...but I couldn't afford it. Once I moved out of the dorms, my outside source of funds dried and I had to work my final three years. "

The sad thing is there's lots of money out there available to students to make study abroad affordable but the NCSU study abroad office never did a good job of communicating that fact. I didn't know until I graduated. From what I've heard, the woman that runs the office is basically just waiting to hit retirement age and doesn't really give a crap about boosting the number of students who participate in their programs. Kind of sad if true.

7/10/2012 3:22:05 PM

i was bitten, must have been the devil
he was just paying me
a little visit, reminding me of his presence
and letting me know, he's waiting

7/10/2012 3:37:12 PM

It's really hard to say, because I truly lacked the maturity then that I have now. And I'm nowhere near as mature mentally and emotionally as most people my age. Given my psychological makeup, it makes it perfectly clear why.

1. I'd have tried to get more help for my handicaps, and I would have tried harder to overcome them instead of throwing in the towel and getting sloshed all the time.
2. I'd have applied for college straight out of high school and would have tried to go to Auburn or Clemson instead. Hell, maybe Virginia Tech.
3. I'm not so sure I would have still pursued mechanical engineering, unless I went to one of the above.
4. If I didn't go straight out of high school, I'd have joined the military for a while. I needed the discipline, both physical and mental. I'd consider going in now if I met physical requirements and I wasn't 41 motherfucking years old.
5. I would have gotten laid a LOT more. Maybe. I would have had realistic standards instead of thinking I could only bone down with smoking hot wimmenz.
6. I would have dated a lot more women on my intellectual level.
7. I would have been more of a dick when I needed to be, and less of a dick when it was unwarranted.
8. I would have taken better, more consistent care of myself, and would try to stay reasonably fit instead of rollercoastering all over the place.
9. I would have studied, done coop, and engaged in more extracurricular academic activities, especially with special interest groups.
10. I would have tried different ways to overcome my social anxiety. I did make a lot of lasting friendships in college, but I could have gone about it differently, less self-destructively.

I feel like I'm starting my life all over now. At the very beginning. It's rough, especially when I realize that I misused my best years. 20s and 30s really are, you know. I can feel things start to slow down. I can feel that my body just can't do what it used to (though I'm working on improving that), and that my mind is more easily overwhelmed and exhausted.

Hindsight truly is 20/20, especially since so damn much masturbation has taken its toll on my vision over the years.

7/10/2012 3:45:32 PM

Apply as accounting major from the start
Stay for MAC / Study and take CPA exam immediately after college
Study abroad
Take summer school community college classes for some of the electives to save some money

7/10/2012 3:51:50 PM

I'd have taken power courses instead of hardware design courses - Because I work in power now

7/10/2012 3:54:17 PM

Wow, this has turned into an incredibly honest thread. Nice work, y'all. Especially ZXAPPEAL

7/10/2012 7:48:04 PM

Quote :

"I would've deferred, although i wanted to do it back then but my parents wouldn't let me."

This. I feel like my life would be 1000% better right now if I had.

[Edited on July 10, 2012 at 7:54 PM. Reason : a]

7/10/2012 7:54:07 PM

I, too, would have deferred

7/10/2012 8:06:49 PM

I don't think I've learned enough to post in this thread.

The only thing I have is not be a lazy SOB, and learn how to interact with people in person better sooner.

7/10/2012 8:17:14 PM

Quote :

"Exact opposite here. I busted my ass for a degree that has got me nothing but being able to answer "Yes" when applications ask me if I have a B.S. I would have majored in something much easier."

A lot of people actually go into careers that have very liitle, or nothing to do with the college education they earned.

7/10/2012 11:37:57 PM

Definitely would have studied abroad
Would have been a better RA.
Would have found a way to stay in AFROTC
Wouldn't have gotten married so young

7/10/2012 11:55:35 PM

Quote :

"i was bitten, must have been the devil he was just paying me a little visit, reminding me of his presence and letting me know, he's waiting"

First thing I thought of too.

Man...so many things I would have done differently. I would not have transferred out of engineering...would have done study abroad...would have done co-op. Even if I'd followed the same academic path I would have gotten a "real" job right out of school, instead of hanging around in a position that had no benefits and didn't pay well just because of inertia. That fucked me over financially in ways that are still affecting me 10 years later.
Outside of school, I would have pursued more women, without the lack of confidence that kept me single for so long. I wouldn't have let myself get trapped in the Friend Zone. I would have been better at standing up for myself and not letting people walk all over me for so long. I would have done some things differently so as not to result in the loss of most of my college friendships. I would have kept myself in better shape and taken better care of my body.

While I can't complain about the final result--for all the things I've done poorly, I ended up engaged to a fantastic woman who every day makes me wonder how I got so lucky--man do I have some regrets from along the way.

7/11/2012 1:47:11 AM

I bitch and moan, and yeah, I've got a lot of stuff that is tough shit right now.


But I wouldn't change a damn thing.


Maybe I would have exercised a little bit more. Maybe I would have punched a couple of people in the face. But that's about it.

[Edited on July 11, 2012 at 1:50 AM. Reason : I like me. My wife likes me. My kids like me. ]

7/11/2012 1:50:08 AM

Quote :

"^I thought you were like mechanical or something"

civil, i should've stayed physics/applied math.

7/11/2012 2:02:39 AM

I would have dated more instead of letting my lack of confidence get the better of me. I would still marry my husband, but we were friends for two years before we got together. In that two years, I wish that I had been out dating.

7/11/2012 2:09:29 AM