Regret {Prompted}

May 3, 2013 by Trisha Berube 4 Comments

The following post is part of a writing exercise that my friend Kathy and I have undertaken together. We choose a weekly topic from a list of prompts found here. I intend to use a varying array of writing styles and techniques, and to limit my editing. I invite those of you with blogs of your own to participate with us. And as always, thanks for reading!

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I hear it all the time, all over the meme-sphere: live your life with no regrets. I have no regrets in my life…blah blah blah. I call bullshit. I have regrets. And I’m glad for them, too. If I never regretted my shittiest moments, I’d be a total asshole today.

I regret my 4^th grade antics of pulling Angela Kershner’s hair until she stopped being my best friend. It taught me about respect.

I regret trying to be like other people. It taught me the importance of individuality.

I regret relying on people who kept letting me down. It taught me about self-sufficiency.

I regret calling my elementary school friends “nerds,” to earn respect from the popular girls. It taught me the value of loyalty.

I regret leaving in the middle of high school cheering tryouts Sophomore year. It taught me about courage.

I regret objectifying myself so much to win attention from boys in college. It taught me about dignity.

I regret smoking. It taught me to respect my body.

I regret staying in the wrong relationship for too long. It taught me about moving on.

I regret apologizing too much. It taught me about standing my ground.

I regret taking part in some of my biggest, stupidest arguments. They taught me about resignation.

I regret becoming a homeowner five years ago. It taught me about my need for freedom.

I regret being a complainer. It taught me about appreciation.

I regret being oblivious to the beauty of nature most of my life. It taught me about humility.

I don’t regret all of my mistakes – sometimes it’s true, the thing itself is the lesson and therefore not really a mistake. But other times, regret is the quiet apology to yourself, the one that happens inside your head, late at night when things are quiet. Regret is a little nugget of wisdom for next time around. You can learn a lot from the positive moments in your life, for sure. But if you fail to gain the knowledge from your worst moments too, the ones you so very much wish never had happened, then you’ll always remain oblivious to the deepest lessons life is giving you.