I’d be pretty upset. I’m happy with where my life is at 32 and there are a lot of things I wouldn’t wanna go through again. I guess I’d just continue as I was at the time, work on my self esteem, and enjoy being younger again.
Give my parents & the church my middle finger sooner♡ demand to get on estrogen & gender affirming care. Keep my old/first job! it might have sucked, but it was stable
Ya know, I honestly don’t know. I’m 37 now and still don’t know what “I wanna be when I grow up.” I was already with the love of my life at 17, so not that… maybe engineering school? Convince my hubs to move to another state?
Well… I would study a different field of study in university. I wouldn’t work part-time during school or during the summer. I’d move out earlier. I’d get a car sooner. I’d look for a job when I graduate university.
I wouldn’t get into a romantic relationship until I am a lot older. I would focus on trying new hobbies and learning new things I’m interested in.
It’d be nice to study martial arts as a hobby for fun. Maybe I’d focus more on playing an instrument for fun. Maybe I’d move to another country and immerse myself in learning to speak their language.
It would be fun to live a different life path. I’d take it easy and enjoy life more. I’m not minimalistic, but maybe I would try to live as a minimalist? I wouldn’t want to do that now, but in another life maybe.
Not get caught up with that mesmerizing guy that promised to keep his word every time, and every time he let me down. I don’t regret it, I just would’ve told my younger self to avoid him.
I would try and date earlier, I didn’t date until I was 22 and honestly I was really naive at a big age and it was embarrassing. Now having gone through two really big heart breaks I feel like if I had more experience I maybe wouldn’t have stayed with people who didn’t value me for as long as I did
Immediately get a job and start working as much as possible knowing Covid will be in full swing in a couple months. Stock up on food and supplies for my family and do as much as I can.
I’d save every damn penny I had lols. I’d stop wasting my time on boys who weren’t worth my time or worthy of my love. I’d confront my dad more often about his emotional neglect. I’d treat my younger brother better.
Sleep more, insist on going to therapy + taking anxiety meds. I was pretty traumatized as an undiagnosed autistic, ADHD raised-Christian girl and I had no way of knowing how unnecessarily difficult my day-to-day was then.
Start therapy + GTFO of my parents house a lot sooner than 21. And I would have more deep conversations with my aunt Laverne, who knew why my mom was so fucked up
Weep uncontrollably because I have to do it all over again. Then I’d get myself some therapy and an ADHD diagnosis hoping that the second time around wouldn’t be so brutally painful.
Choose a different college. A different major. Focus and do my work. Date. Realize I was indeed pretty. Then move to my dream location after college instead of in my 30s.
Push for mental health treatment–therapy, and treatment for my ADHD. If I had been under the care of a therapist and psychiatrist at that point in my life, I truly believe I’d be in a MUCH different place right now.
Without the knowledge I have today, I would probably do exactly the same thing I did. But with the knowledge I have today, I would do a lot of things differently… Then I would have about twenty years more enjoyment in life today…😔
Not become bulimic. Go to therapy and stay in it. Go to college in a large city. Maybe move to Seattle or San Francisco. Things were really picking up in those cities in 1997/98.
Not get with my ex. Go back to college. Get a wknd job. Wash more and wear deodorant. Maybe try dating someone my own age. Improve my relationship with my sisters.
I would have run away from home told my mom off sooner. About everything.
About how her reactions are always overblown and unwarranted so that I wouldn’t have developed my anxiety and depression.
About how my emotions are actually valid (she would always say I’m wrong/its not true or something whenever I tried to talk about how I feel) so that I would have learned how to process and express them in my youth instead of in my 20s
About how I dont need to come home every weekend from uni and that she needs to stop guilt tripping and throwing a fit. I would have actually been able to make friends and learn how to socialize. Because the weekend is the only time anyone dis anything.
About how screaming and hitting me until im hysterical is not going to make my grades better in math. I was doing great in every other subject.
About how she needs to stop telling me that being an engineer is the only acceptable career choice. I suffered so much in school and had no time for anything else. Im not even an engineer as my job today cause it’s such a shit ass job. I wasted all of those years on studying and isolation instead of socializing and expanding my interests and worldview.
I would have actually had the mental space to be a better human being and improve on myself instead of struggling every day with stress at 100. I would have actually been pleasant to be around instead of an anxious depressed mess, and I would have had the ability to meet friends and a better partner.
Only when I started telling her off about her insane behavior and spent all of my time away from home did she realize that she’s pushing me away. Things are more stable now but I struggle every day with so many regrets. I have such a hard time interacting with people I don’t think I can ever be normal.
Move back in with my grandma so my mom couldn’t take advantage of her and send her to an early grave (my opinion at least) im 44 and still miss that woman so much
Meh, maybe find more friends who would still be around. Another year with D and C could have been great, especially being able to bond with the former without as much drama.
I would probably just live a little more. I was the golden child and followed almost all the rules. If I could go back, I’d push a few more boundaries so I’d know who I was sooner.
Whenever I hear questions like this, I always worry that if I had done things differently, maybe I wouldn’t have met my husband and had my kids (my real answer is that if I woke up in 2007, I would cry my eyes out 😂)
But if I could be sure that wouldn’t change, I would apply myself in school and not be afraid of my parents. Tell them what they needed to hear and try to stand up to the temper tantrums. Maybe Dad would still be alive, and Mom wouldn’t still be trying fully recover from her financial choices to this day. They always told me once I was an adult I would somehow magically agree with everything they did. Well, I’m 35 and still waiting.
If I got into a time machine and returned to when I was 17, I would do everything the same exact way I did it the first time. Because if you go back in time then you only have your knowledge at 17. And if you didn’t then you would be messing with situations in the future. Has no one seen back to the future? Lol
So many things… To start off, know your worth and don’t settle for these asshats. Not just know your worth but start finding out who you are, without your parents telling you who to be, and advocate for your own damn person without anyone dimming your sparkle. Quit being so timid and seize the day because you will only be this young once and it’ll be the best time of your life. Take every opportunity life throws at you and start learning some lifelong hobbies. Personally I wish I started playing golf and training BJJ and so many other things at a younger age. I wish I had listened to my parents (lol) and gotten involved in coding and computer science and also gotten a better grasp on finances and investing early on.
17 is too late to fix most of the problems but maybe try to file for emancipation since my abusive parents refused to fill out any forms to let me apply to college and nobody told me there were ways around this.
Nobody also told me that it’s possible to ask for help when you’re struggling.
Have more fun, not take everything so seriously, not worry about guys, eat normally and not obsess about weight, start therapy and antidepressants sooner.
Probably switch all my core high school classes to the winter semester when covid hit so all my grades would’ve been frozen and I would’ve had a chill fall with all options before going into a pandemic and no diploma exams or anything in the winter. Also maybe apply for the version of my university program that taught me more hands on stuff too.
Pay attention & never have a child with the guy I was dating at 17. I very mistakenly thought he would be a good father. He became a dead beat & he still thinks like a toddler at 56. That was the single worst mistake of my life. If I’d have never given him a second chance at 17 my life would have been much better! 💖
Comments
Invest in bitcoin
Choose a different degree
Never quit ballet
Value my self worth.
Buy a house.
Gone to the audition.
Go to therapy.
Choose college out of state and never come back.
Look ahead. Extrapolate. Think more.
do sport, do my damn homework, and not just trying to find self love with guys
Taken a gap year to decide what I truly wanted to do with my life.
I love the position I’m in, but could I be happier?
Dump him!!!!
Banged the German exchange student.
Die at tha moment
Get an ADHD diagnosis, those 10 years might have been so different.
Go to a community college first instead of moving cities for university. Take out fewer student loans, live at home and spend time with my mom.
Stay away from boys and study harder in high school.
Hoping to be 18 soon, how should anyone survive this world without liquor?!
Tell myself I am worth it
I’d be pretty upset. I’m happy with where my life is at 32 and there are a lot of things I wouldn’t wanna go through again. I guess I’d just continue as I was at the time, work on my self esteem, and enjoy being younger again.
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Give my parents & the church my middle finger sooner♡ demand to get on estrogen & gender affirming care. Keep my old/first job! it might have sucked, but it was stable
Nothing? I honestly don’t know
Stop dieting! Start lifting weights. Invest.
That was like a year before COVID lol so nothing I could do really
fight as many of my enemies as i could before my 18th birthday
Quit smoking before I got really addicted.
Be losing my fucking mind. 17 had been the worst year of my life by a long shot. I turned 17 right after my mom died
Get back home.
Ya know, I honestly don’t know. I’m 37 now and still don’t know what “I wanna be when I grow up.” I was already with the love of my life at 17, so not that… maybe engineering school? Convince my hubs to move to another state?
Well… I would study a different field of study in university. I wouldn’t work part-time during school or during the summer. I’d move out earlier. I’d get a car sooner. I’d look for a job when I graduate university.
I wouldn’t get into a romantic relationship until I am a lot older. I would focus on trying new hobbies and learning new things I’m interested in.
It’d be nice to study martial arts as a hobby for fun. Maybe I’d focus more on playing an instrument for fun. Maybe I’d move to another country and immerse myself in learning to speak their language.
It would be fun to live a different life path. I’d take it easy and enjoy life more. I’m not minimalistic, but maybe I would try to live as a minimalist? I wouldn’t want to do that now, but in another life maybe.
Go to therapy for my anxiety issues that caused me to have social anxiety so I could actually make long lasting friendships!
Not get caught up with that mesmerizing guy that promised to keep his word every time, and every time he let me down. I don’t regret it, I just would’ve told my younger self to avoid him.
have fun study harder and enjoy it while it lasts
gone to culinary school instead of going to university like my parents wanted
cry
Work out, dumped my gf at the time, not smoke cigarettes, and get my brewmaster’s certificate
Go for a nice run.
Same stuff, it wasn’t stated that we would have the knowledge that we have now.
I don’t think anything differently – I didn’t do any big life choice at 17 or had any problems. But 18 is another story…
Considered my health more, looked for real connection rather than popular connection, go into law, not waste my time with the wrong boys
I would try and date earlier, I didn’t date until I was 22 and honestly I was really naive at a big age and it was embarrassing. Now having gone through two really big heart breaks I feel like if I had more experience I maybe wouldn’t have stayed with people who didn’t value me for as long as I did
Every. Single. Thing.
I would change everything. I would choose me every single time.
Immediately get a job and start working as much as possible knowing Covid will be in full swing in a couple months. Stock up on food and supplies for my family and do as much as I can.
Tell my now husband that he needs to be with me and how much I admire him, so we can skip out on all the shit and be happy together much earlier.
Get assessed for ADHD seventeen years earlier than I did.
Keep doing karate.
Smoke less (but not no) weed.
Buy a variety of tech stocks, there was no bitcoin back then but Apple was $1.50…
In the same time and situation with the same resources? Same stuff.
I’d save every damn penny I had lols. I’d stop wasting my time on boys who weren’t worth my time or worthy of my love. I’d confront my dad more often about his emotional neglect. I’d treat my younger brother better.
I’d have prioritized taking care of myself mentally and physically.
Look for my husband so I wouldn’t have had to date all the others
That one cheerleader the one we was all scared to talk to, yea her id do her
Sleep more, insist on going to therapy + taking anxiety meds. I was pretty traumatized as an undiagnosed autistic, ADHD raised-Christian girl and I had no way of knowing how unnecessarily difficult my day-to-day was then.
Cry. I’m 53 and happy, fuck if I’d want to revisit teen me.
Not touch nicotine
Not start dating my ex husband.
Start therapy + GTFO of my parents house a lot sooner than 21. And I would have more deep conversations with my aunt Laverne, who knew why my mom was so fucked up
Remain a virgin and avoid dating until my 30s. It was all a waste of time and energy.
Save more money and not drop out of college.
Choose the same life again
Spend more time with my dad and ask him more questions about his life. He had so many stories to share, so much knowledge, and was so outgoing.
Clean my room and refuse to leave it until they got me in for a sleep study
Stay single.
Rejoice. I LOVED being 17
Warn myself about the bipolar disorder.
☆ Save up as much money as possible so that I can move out at 18 or in my early 20s
☆ Open an Etsy shop or some e-commerce shop
☆ Love myself more
Take pictures of myself naked 😂 post baby body looks different, I’d like to remember how good I had it!
Not get married at 18
Hug my dad
Weep uncontrollably because I have to do it all over again. Then I’d get myself some therapy and an ADHD diagnosis hoping that the second time around wouldn’t be so brutally painful.
Choose a different college. A different major. Focus and do my work. Date. Realize I was indeed pretty. Then move to my dream location after college instead of in my 30s.
Push for mental health treatment–therapy, and treatment for my ADHD. If I had been under the care of a therapist and psychiatrist at that point in my life, I truly believe I’d be in a MUCH different place right now.
Take education and investing in myself a lot more seriously
Leave home immediately, get therapy, and try sex earlier…
Without the knowledge I have today, I would probably do exactly the same thing I did. But with the knowledge I have today, I would do a lot of things differently… Then I would have about twenty years more enjoyment in life today…😔
Leave the guy I was with.
Go to school for medical dosimetry.
But I realize that if my life hadn’t played out the way it did, I wouldn’t have met my husband. So maybe I wouldn’t change a thing.
Get the EDS diagnosis I’m still chasing at 35. Maybe my pain would be taken more seriously
Leave and never come back
Choose a different college.
Transition sooner.
Enjoy my body functioning without pain.
I’m sure lots of other stuff, too, but that would be the first thing.
Not become bulimic. Go to therapy and stay in it. Go to college in a large city. Maybe move to Seattle or San Francisco. Things were really picking up in those cities in 1997/98.
Escape my parents
Tell my best friend how important they are and that life will never be the same for anyone of us at school if they aren’t here.
Hug my mom ❤️
I would go to preparatory class and then pass the exams and join a good business school.
I would improve my social skills.
I would talk to that guy that was hanging with my friends sometimes. He’s very entertaining and I used to have a HUGE crush on him.
Not get with my ex. Go back to college. Get a wknd job. Wash more and wear deodorant. Maybe try dating someone my own age. Improve my relationship with my sisters.
File papers to emancipate!
I would have run away from home told my mom off sooner. About everything.
About how her reactions are always overblown and unwarranted so that I wouldn’t have developed my anxiety and depression.
About how my emotions are actually valid (she would always say I’m wrong/its not true or something whenever I tried to talk about how I feel) so that I would have learned how to process and express them in my youth instead of in my 20s
About how I dont need to come home every weekend from uni and that she needs to stop guilt tripping and throwing a fit. I would have actually been able to make friends and learn how to socialize. Because the weekend is the only time anyone dis anything.
About how screaming and hitting me until im hysterical is not going to make my grades better in math. I was doing great in every other subject.
About how she needs to stop telling me that being an engineer is the only acceptable career choice. I suffered so much in school and had no time for anything else. Im not even an engineer as my job today cause it’s such a shit ass job. I wasted all of those years on studying and isolation instead of socializing and expanding my interests and worldview.
I would have actually had the mental space to be a better human being and improve on myself instead of struggling every day with stress at 100. I would have actually been pleasant to be around instead of an anxious depressed mess, and I would have had the ability to meet friends and a better partner.
Only when I started telling her off about her insane behavior and spent all of my time away from home did she realize that she’s pushing me away. Things are more stable now but I struggle every day with so many regrets. I have such a hard time interacting with people I don’t think I can ever be normal.
Move back in with my grandma so my mom couldn’t take advantage of her and send her to an early grave (my opinion at least) im 44 and still miss that woman so much
Actually study harder, go to a different college where my ex was not, and not take a gap year. Stay away from weed and alcohol.
Also, tell my folks I love them more.
Get on lexapro so I could just be normal instead of spending so many years in a hole
Immediately demand to go to therapy, dump and block 99% of the guys I was talking to/involved with, and start investing my money.
Stay away from boys and focus on school. Be more involved in politics and sports.
Invested in my body sooner. And maybe choose pastry school over college.
As a recovering people pleaser, I’d spend less time worrying about what others think and more time doing what makes me happy.
I’d tell her it’s OK to be bisexual, it’s just part of who you are and nothing to be anxious or ashamed of 🩷💜💙
Avoid that one injury that has and will continue to cost me years of disabling lower back pain
Cry. God I do not under any circumstances want to be 17 again.
Go to a different college and actually work hard and focus.
Meh, maybe find more friends who would still be around. Another year with D and C could have been great, especially being able to bond with the former without as much drama.
Quit smoking, and god damn, above all, brush my fuckin teeth.
Fight back against my abusive parents
I would probably just live a little more. I was the golden child and followed almost all the rules. If I could go back, I’d push a few more boundaries so I’d know who I was sooner.
Take better care of my teeth, go to therapy, go to college out of state, read books about financial literacy
I’m 17, looking through these for guidance 🙏🙏
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Keep up with music. Get an ADHD diagnosis. Get my wisdom teeth out. Different major in college.
Create more healthy boundaries and actually stand up for myself. Learn to say no and mean it.
Stayed ran away from home.
Not listen to my mom and work more. Spend less time with friends
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Stay in school
start taking anti depressants
Whenever I hear questions like this, I always worry that if I had done things differently, maybe I wouldn’t have met my husband and had my kids (my real answer is that if I woke up in 2007, I would cry my eyes out 😂)
But if I could be sure that wouldn’t change, I would apply myself in school and not be afraid of my parents. Tell them what they needed to hear and try to stand up to the temper tantrums. Maybe Dad would still be alive, and Mom wouldn’t still be trying fully recover from her financial choices to this day. They always told me once I was an adult I would somehow magically agree with everything they did. Well, I’m 35 and still waiting.
Start a fund to invest into a Roth IRA when I turn 18, let time work for me. And lift weights, turns out it is really good for everyone.
law school, prenup
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Take more risks. Be less afraid of failure. Take better care of my body. Be better at communicating with my friends.
Not share my plans, audition differently, go to trauma therapy, read some books, invest
Cry in despair. I don’t want to start over with how fucked up the world is these days.
Pursue a different degree
Oh man! Do we know what we know now? Lol
Fight for treatment of my depression and anxiety before I got to college
not be so suicidal😭😭😭😭😭 it was such a fun age and it got overshadowed by my mental stuff
Get my anxiety under control and start talk therapy.
Back then? Be kinder to myself, give less of a fuck about fitting in, maybe dress a bit different.
I’d finally get that basketball scholarship I always wanted and go pro. And I definitely wouldn’t get my girlfriend pregnant again.
Break up with my boyfriend, go to university out of state, and block my mom.
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Prevent my fathers death.
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Lose weight
Save save save
Marry my first girl
Stay a virgin
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Not get married to my highschool girlfriend
If I got into a time machine and returned to when I was 17, I would do everything the same exact way I did it the first time. Because if you go back in time then you only have your knowledge at 17. And if you didn’t then you would be messing with situations in the future. Has no one seen back to the future? Lol
If I could go back knowing what I know now? I’d try to stop him from going down the wrong path and not be so stressed about losing my ‘friends’
go to therapy and get on birth control
So many things… To start off, know your worth and don’t settle for these asshats. Not just know your worth but start finding out who you are, without your parents telling you who to be, and advocate for your own damn person without anyone dimming your sparkle. Quit being so timid and seize the day because you will only be this young once and it’ll be the best time of your life. Take every opportunity life throws at you and start learning some lifelong hobbies. Personally I wish I started playing golf and training BJJ and so many other things at a younger age. I wish I had listened to my parents (lol) and gotten involved in coding and computer science and also gotten a better grasp on finances and investing early on.
Stay in school and open a 401k
I would avoid all self-destructive behaviors , avoid toxic people, and get my shit together!
17 is too late to fix most of the problems but maybe try to file for emancipation since my abusive parents refused to fill out any forms to let me apply to college and nobody told me there were ways around this.
Nobody also told me that it’s possible to ask for help when you’re struggling.
Buy BTC, Doge, invest in certain companies such as Apple, Nvidia, MSFT.
Relive times with my grandparents and say one last goodbye!
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Have less hetero sex and buy toys earlier.
I’d try to live my life like a 17 year old and actually have fun for once.
Have more fun, not take everything so seriously, not worry about guys, eat normally and not obsess about weight, start therapy and antidepressants sooner.
If I was 17 again, I would do everything I was passionate about, and have more fun
Choose a completely different path out of plain curiosity — not because I regret taking this one
A lot of stuff differently. That’s for sure.
Get a GED and drop out of school.
Probably switch all my core high school classes to the winter semester when covid hit so all my grades would’ve been frozen and I would’ve had a chill fall with all options before going into a pandemic and no diploma exams or anything in the winter. Also maybe apply for the version of my university program that taught me more hands on stuff too.
Pay attention & never have a child with the guy I was dating at 17. I very mistakenly thought he would be a good father. He became a dead beat & he still thinks like a toddler at 56. That was the single worst mistake of my life. If I’d have never given him a second chance at 17 my life would have been much better! 💖
I turned 18 three weeks ago. So I probably would be doing what I’m currently doing.
Try to find my current fiancée so we can spend all these years together instead of miserable and apart
Celebrate