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Just similar beauty, regret is successful the oculus of the beholder. One person's biggest regret mightiness beryllium different person's top triumph. In galore ways, it's each astir the meaning and powerfulness we springiness to them. We each person things we privation we'd done differently, paths we privation we'd taken, oregon moments we privation we could get back. And portion it's good to instrumentality a infinitesimal to mourn what "could've been," yet we person to get backmost up and support moving forward. But first...it's bully to cognize we aren't unsocial successful immoderate of our regrets.
So I asked the BuzzFeed Community, "What's your biggest regret successful life?" and wow, did radical person immoderate wishes, what-ifs, and worries to get disconnected their chests. Reading done their responses was a reminder that none of us are alone. And earlier we measurement guardant into the light, instrumentality a look:
1. "She said she was pregnant, truthful we got married. But aft our wedding ceremony, connected our mode to the reception, she asked maine to halt astatine a store and bargain her pads due to the fact that she had conscionable started her period. I should person tally that night, erstwhile I recovered retired the gestation was a lie, but I didn't and conscionable blew it off. 25 years and a mates of kids later, I yet near her. It was the archetypal clip I felt liberated successful my life."
2. "I regret being his 'other woman.' I regret that I didn’t hold for the fantastic antheral that I americium with now. I regret that these 2 men are friends. I regret that my existent fantastic antheral volition ne'er cognize that I slept with his person — that his person cheated connected his woman with me."
—Anonymous, Canada
3. "I regret redeeming myself for marriage. I got truthful joined truthful young that I ne'er got to sow my chaotic oats. I've ne'er known existent state oregon independence, and I regret it tremendously. My hubby is amazing, and has beeen a fantastic spouse and begetter to our kids. But I truly privation I had lived a little, and not joined successful my aboriginal 20s without immoderate different experiences."
—Anonymous, 51, New York, USA
4. "I regret not telling my 16-year-old sister to instrumentality our dada instantly to the exigency country erstwhile she called, disquieted astir his symptoms. He died that night. I was lone 23 myself, but it’s caused a beingness of regret for maine and trauma for my sister."
—Anonymous, 47
5. "I privation I had kissed him and told him I was successful emotion with him. Or I privation helium had the courageousness to bash the aforesaid with me. We talked years later, and it turned retired we were some successful emotion with each different but excessively acrophobic to ruin our friendship. Now, it's been years, we've chosen different people, and we tin ne'er spell back. But I privation we could've had much clip actually unneurotic successful that blissful small summer, alternatively than skirting astir the information and pretending to attraction little than the different person. He was my archetypal love, and it astir apt wouldn't person worked retired anyway, but I privation I had gotten to actually emotion him. I'm everlastingly curious."
—Anonymous, 37, USA
6. "I regret being a bully. I was an asshole erstwhile I was a child, and I can’t assistance but deliberation of each the radical I hurt. My beingness is full garbage present due to the fact that I was a mean kid. I honestly peaked successful mediate school."
—Anonymous, 34, Canada
7. "I regret signing (what I believed to be) impermanent guardianship papers of my kid implicit to my adoptive begetter nether the guise of him helping maine out. But helium conscionable legally kidnapped my child. It has been 10 years since I've seen her, and I miss her truthful much."
—Anonymous, 30, Michigan, USA
8. "I regret not marrying the pistillate of my dreams — a brilliant, beauteous pistillate I dated successful my 30s — due to the fact that my racist household didn't o.k. of her. I ended it due to the fact that I didn't privation to suffer my household implicit a relationship. Turns out, I'd chopped ties with my household for different reasons anyway. I haven't spoken to them since 2020 and don't regret it. But to this day, astir 25 years later, I americium inactive unsocial and deliberation astir however antithetic my beingness would've been if I followed my bosom and chose the pistillate I loved."
—Anonymous, 58, Illinois, USA
9. "When I was 40, I slept with a 19-year-old coworker. I recovered retired she was sleeping with different co-workers, too. It was not my proudest moment. I regret each spot of it."
—Anonymous, 49, USA
10. "My person asked if I wanted to spell with her to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, and I declined. Maybe it’s a motion I’m inactive young and haven’t had a batch of hard decisions to make, but it volition everlastingly beryllium the nonaccomplishment of my life."
—Anonymous, 21, Utah, USA
11. "I don’t deliberation this truly counts arsenic MY biggest regret, but I privation my ma had divorced my dada 10 years agone erstwhile she archetypal wanted to. She fell into the trap of reasoning she was keeping the household unneurotic by staying with him. She said she wants to hold until we spell disconnected to assemblage earlier she does it. What she doesn't cognize is that, due to the fact that she stayed with him, we are counting down the days until we permission our location and spell to college, due to the fact that beingness with him is truthful terrible. Life would've been amended if they got divorced erstwhile we inactive lived astatine home. I conjecture what I’m truly saying is I privation I got to acquisition a existent childhood, due to the fact that portion I’m technically inactive a kid, I deliberation there’s a portion of maine that volition ne'er rather beryllium young and guiltless again due to the fact that of my dad. In presumption of MY biggest regret? That I missed retired connected sashimi for 13 years due to the fact that I was excessively acrophobic to effort it. It's delicious!"
—Anonymous, 15
12. "I regret not making amends with my begetter earlier helium passed. He tried, but I was excessively stubborn and excessively proud. It has shaped my outlook connected forgiveness and relationships since then, but I inactive unrecorded with that regret each day."
—Anonymous, 43, Indiana, USA
13. "I regret not taking the induction erstwhile my babe girl was past her owed date. I ever thought it was amended to hold for them to travel naturally, erstwhile they were ready. So I fto my owed day travel and go. A week later, my girl still wasn't coming, truthful we went to the hospital. When they did an ultrasound, she nary longer had a heartbeat. I gave commencement to a stillborn. We ne'er received answers arsenic to why. Maybe she would've passed distant anyway, adjacent with the induction; we volition ne'er know. But I volition ever regret not taking the induction, due to the fact that if I had, she might've been present with maine today."
—Anonymous, 36
14. "My member ever wanted to ticker anime with me. I lone watched 1 occurrence with him, and past aft that, I said I didn't privation to ticker immoderate more. He precocious died, and I regret not saying yes. I privation I had those years of memories watching anime together."
—Anonymous
15. "When I was a teenager, I recovered immoderate journals that I wrote successful erstwhile I was successful simple school. At the time, I was truthful embarrassed astir my kid thoughts, truthful I threw them out. Now, I truly privation I could work the things my small caput thought astir erstwhile I was 6 years old."
—Anonymous, 30, Canada
16. "My biggest regret is ending things with the emotion of my life. We had a beauteous relationship, but it was a secret. We didn't cognize what radical would accidental if they recovered retired that we were archetypal cousins. We got tense that radical would find out, truthful we ended it, and I moved distant to get immoderate distance. But to this day, it's the biggest mistake of my life. She was THE ONE, and we conscionable fto it each spell due to the fact that we feared what others would think."
—Anonymous, 46, Ohio, USA
17. "My parents didn’t judge that girls should spell to college. They said to spell to typing schoolhouse and hold to find a husband. Since they didn’t emotionally oregon monetarily assistance me, I struggled to bash it myself. It took maine 10 years, but I yet earned a Master’s Degree. Since I took retired loans to spell to school, I regret not studying abroad. I learned my lesson, though, and scrimped and saved to nonstop my ain kids overseas for college. I watched however they grew and thrived. I'm truthful arrogant of them, but I privation I had done the aforesaid happening astatine their age."
—Anonymous, 56, California, USA
18. "I regret believing that getting joined would marque maine a implicit person. My hubby was an atrocious person, and I divorced him successful bid to support our children from him. I didn't get to rise the kids close due to the fact that of this. I americium the parent who didn’t conscionable expectations oregon rise them successful the mode that they deserved. I was ever successful endurance mode, and my kids suffered due to the fact that of it. It's the biggest mistake of my life."
—Anonymous, 75, Iowa, USA
19. "I regret stealing. Over the years, I've stolen wealth from my parents, my brothers, my sister, and adjacent aggregate jobs. To this day, I'm ashamed."
—Anonymous
20. "I privation I’d listened to my ma and joined the subject aft I graduated from college. I would’ve gone successful arsenic a commissioned officer, gotten my master's grade paid for, seen the world, and retired astatine 42 with a beingness pension and healthcare. And past person been capable to person a 2nd vocation successful the backstage sector. Instead, I joined close retired of college, chiefly due to the fact that each of my friends were getting married. I went done a divorcement successful my 30s and struggled financially for galore years. I person a bully beingness now, but often wonderment what it would person been similar if I’d listened to my mom."
—Anonymous, 70, Kentucky, USA
21. "I privation I had ne'er touched intoxicant successful my life. My drinking has taken truthful overmuch from me, and I'm inactive trying to quit. If you person ne'er touched booze, don't start!"
—Anonymous, 56, Ohio, USA
22. "I bash NOT regret not having a narration with my parents. I bash NOT regret not having children, adjacent though everyone kept saying I would alteration my mind. I bash NOT regret staying azygous aft my bosom got breached by my archetypal husband, and I went done a hard divorce. I bash NOT regret moving a batch for my career. But the things I DO regret? I regret saying hurtful, thoughtless things to radical that wounded them. I regret not keeping successful interaction with friends I loved portion moving and travelling. Treat everyone with kindness...even if they are your enemy. Do this, and you won't person immoderate regrets!"
—Anonymous, 70 Texas, USA
23. "I regret not going into my father's country to springiness him a kiss, accidental bully night, and archer him I loved him erstwhile helium asked maine to. Instead, I said I was engaged and conscionable said bully nighttime from the stairs...just hours earlier helium unexpectedly died. At slightest helium heard maine and responded, but I volition ever regret not hugging him 1 past time."
—Anonymous
24. "My grandpa passed distant successful 2008, and I regret not saying goodbye. My parents had pushed for maine to bash a ngo travel with the church, adjacent though my grandpa was ill. He died portion I was abroad. I ne'er got to accidental goodbye, and I miss him a lot. I regret not lasting up for myself and telling my parents no. I wanted to enactment location and beryllium determination for my grandma erstwhile my grandpa went. But…I went connected the trip, and helium passed distant portion I was…what? Doing the Lord’s work?"
—Anonymous
25. And finally... "I privation I had taken amended attraction of my wellness erstwhile I was younger. My parents did their champion to thatch me, but I was young and stupid. I'm present successful my 40s, and I person chronic wellness issues. I'm frightened I'll dice younger than I would person if I had lone listened to them."
—Anonymous, 42, Connecticut, USA
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