Would you do it different if you were young again?

You could spend your whole life regretting things you have or have not done. On the other hand, you can just get on with your life and learn from your mistakes.

See the world, pursue things you think are interesting rather than things that you think will advance your career, do not - DO NOT - worry about getting married. Eventually it'll happen, and if you are an interesting individual with lots of interesting experiences, you are more likely to attract someone like that as a partner.

I know I didn't really figure out who I was or what I wanted to do until I was 25 or 26. I think 22 is early to be making lifelong decisions (marriage, kids, etc). 22 is really quite young. Have fun with it.

in retrospect I have only one lesson I have learned:

when a relationship is fading and about to fade away, it is better for it to be burnt out

for me this means every time a relationship is faltering, I try to get the woman to have a threesome with me, if she goes for it ... great, and if she does'nt well when she leaves me she tells her friends what I wanted

inevitably if I then pay any attention to her friends that seems 1 on 1 they go for it and it is an easy score, sometimes you get the 3some too

when you find "the one" worship her like Flagpole Willy talks about being good and faithful to his wife, but until you do ... well there is only 1 way to break up

also I think I would have stuck with the piano lessons my mom tried to make me take, that also really scores with the ladies

I had this same realization when I graduated from college. I can distinctly remember driving back home from college, jobless, to my parent's house thinking "What the f#@# am I going to do?" The answer is do whatever the hell you want. Go to Colorado and find yourself. Move back home and try to bang old high school friends. Go get a real job. You've got the world by the balls right now.

I went through the same thing three years ago. I graduated, my girlfriend broke up with me, and I began a graduate program (with no funding) because I couldn't think of anything better to do. I dropped out of the grad program after taking two classes and began working pretty much full time at a running store. I loved it and spent two years enjoying life and earning some money (though not much). Last year, after being out of college for two years, my ex and I started dating again. Now we're engaged and are getting married this summer. Additionally, I'm beginning a different grad program in something I know I will love at a school I'm excited to go to. To top it off my running is going better than ever now that I'm running on my own schedule.

I'm not too far removed from you so maybe it's not my place to give you advice, but I would say don't worry. Just relax and enjoy yourself. Get a job you think you'll like even if it doesn't pay much. If you can't find anything you particularly want to do, just get a job that pays and keep your eyes peeled for a better job. Hang out with friends, travel, read books, do new things. In a couple of years you'll be better equipped to make career/life decisions with confidence. Don't sweat it now. Just enjoy life and experience as much as you can.

In all seriousness, here's what I would have done differently if I were starting over after college again.

1) Would have actually taken a honeymoon. We moved to San Francisco immediately following getting married, and we toured around in San Francisco and Monterey and so on, so it was like a honeymoon, but since we then lived there, it really wasn't.

2) Would not have kept a couple of dead-end jobs I had as long as I had them. One job in the SF Bay area paid me $17,500 with no benefits and not even any dedicated vacation time. I kept that job for 3 years (eventually getting up to $19,500).

That's it. Everything else I've done is beyond reproach. :)

1. Hike the Appalachian Trail

2. Get a bike and cycle Europe

3. Buy less things (except hiking and cycling gear)

4. Run more miles and not all intensely hard

Then: Get back, get a job and BUY A FREAKIN HOUSE. When I think of all the rent money I threw away over the years...

all these things I havent done wrote:

1. Hike the Appalachian Trail

2. Get a bike and cycle Europe

3. Buy less things (except hiking and cycling gear)

4. Run more miles and not all intensely hard

Then: Get back, get a job and BUY A FREAKIN HOUSE. When I think of all the rent money I threw away over the years...

That's pretty close to what I would do.

I've hiked many portions of the trail. I would love to take a sabbatical from work and finish it up.

I would also run easier on my easy days.

RealLifeWise:

1. I would have stayed with my state government job. With the raises in pay to match the private sector, I would be making about $20K less than I am now. However, I had a work schedule that gave me every other Friday off, 14-15 Holidays per year, 12 sick days, and (if I had stayed with experience) 20 days of vacation. I'd only have to work 188 days/year with no overtime. I would also have a retirement plan in addition to my 401K.

2. I had broken up with my gf in college. We got back together our senior year and later married (still are married to each other). When I went to college, I would have been more open to advances by the other women, and I wouldn't have been so quick to get back together. I was super shy back then, and that is my biggest regret.

Considering that she now weighs 110 pounds more than when we got married, I basically get a 3some everytime we have sex. She also just comes home and does nothing except watch tv in her pajamas. She has a membership to a gym (which I view as a charitable contribution) and lifetime memberships to Jenny Craig and Weightwatchers.

3. When said wife told me 10 years ago to back off on my running or risk our relationship, I should have told her to take a hike. She knew what she was getting when she married me. Instead of using the time to be together with me, she started focusing on her career.

Sounds like a tough marriage dude. How come you stay in it now? Kids?

keep running, you can learn anything you want as long as you have talent at something.What I am saying is don't abandon something you love because you think you need to grow up.

I am twice your age and can honestly say that I would do almost everything different.

1. I'd have been a better and more well-rounded student, from high school forward.

2. I'd have been a more dedicated runner; I did okay in college but never fulfilled my potential.

2A. For that matter, maybe I wouldn't have run at all. I would have kept playing baseball, which is more fun and infinitely easier.

3. I would have traveled as much as possible before getting a real job or getting married and having kids.

4. I would have been less materialistic and pursued a means of earning a living that was enjoyable and fulfilling rather than simply lucrative and secure.

5. Here's the slimey one: I would never have gotten married. I love my wife - and nothing is more important to me than my kids - but there is no denying that life would be easier without the extra stress and responsibility. And going through life without being tied down to anything would be Heaven on earth!

So listen up, Y&R - Always (ALWAYS!) think through the consequences of everything you're tempted to commit to. Chances are you might move in another direction and end up living the high life for your WHOLE life.

I'm 41. If I was 22 again I would:

1) Learn to speak Italian

2) Bang more chicks

3) Get laid more often

4) Use my fluent Italian to pick up some rich older babes and pork them silly, maybe become their boy toy and have them buy me a really cool car that I can use to pick up some other hot younger chicks.

Sorry, married 15 years, don't get out much.

If I had it to do over again I would have joined a racing team, and pursued my running seriously. DO NOT GET MARRIED THIS YOUNG.

I married at 19 while in college, graduated in 3 years, and started a family at the age of 22. It is very hard to have 3 kids, work 40 hours per week, and try to qualify for the olympic trials. I did this for 12 years in pursuit of that goal, running 2:21 for the marathon, which was a qualifying time, but did not do it in the year it counted. I missed by 35 seconds, running 2:22:35 at the age of 36 in 1995. Pretty sure w/o all of these responsibilities, I could have reached a higher level.

My oldest son graduated 2 years ago from college. He returned home that summer not knowing what to do. I did not let him move into the guest room, as I did not want him to think that was a permanent possibility. He had to sleep on a mattress on the floor so he knew it was only temporary. He graduated with a 3.97 gpa in finance. He finally decided to deal black jack at a casino and ski in winter. He is having the time of his life and doing just fine. Not what I would have pictured for him, or what I would have chose for him. But, it is what I should have done--experience life and had some fun doing what I wanted to do rather than what society thinks we should do.

I am recently divorced. DO NOT GET MARRIED THIS YOUNG. Enjoy life and try to find something you like doing every day--at least for a while till you know exactly what you want to do. If you choose to climb the corporate ladder, realize there are sacrifices in doing that. The rewards are mostly monetary. If that is your goal, then pursue it. But, happiness cannot be bought. Work is work, but some work is more fun than other work. And some work pays more than other work. All choices you have to make.

I'm in my late 20's, and looking back...

You should have 2 goals:

1. Run as fast as possible as long as possible (achieve many PR's)

2. Have as much sex with as many women as possibe (even if you are a girl! send pictures)

Don't worry about the "M" word, just keep a list of traits about women you can't live with, you'll figure this out from all the smokin' chicks you're bangin'. When you stop finding these traits (around 27 or 28) and meet a girl who has none of them, you might feel like "M". Never comprimise on these traits! Be sure to read the "Postnuptial shutdown" thread before proceeding to "M".

I had a job lined up before graduation, so I can't give much advice about that. I know women dig money and confidence, but given a choice confidence will get you farther. Just remember to have fun!

Post of the day award !!Ha HaJest fekin brilliant !

1. don't worry about women...if it's meant to happen, it will, if not there's always interval workouts and cold showers...think with the head that's between your shoulders

2. get your degree ASAP

3. train more, race less but more intelligently

4. get a decent rental property ASAP

5. go low profile in your expenditures and chuckle at your critics

6. trust your first impressions and don't overthink issues

7. get an IRA as soon as you can and load it to the max each year, even if you have to sacrifice

8. you don't NEED a lot of the things our consumer culture dictates you MUST have to be cool...never underestimate the local library

9. buy blue chips if you MUST buy stocks

10. laugh more

11. A Church, Temple or Synagogue is actually not a bad place at all...don't know from Mosques, but someone here must know

12. Yield to the a*shole that's driving like an a*shole, he/she is obviously in a hurry to make their appointment with the concrete abuttment or telephone pole that, with any luck, has their name on it

Would have joined the Church of Latter Day Saints at a earlier age. I love this church and love being a member. Rip away.

Flagpole talks so much about being faithful to his wife because that's all he can and ever could get.