What would your "do over" be?

1. 71

   Beth100posted 14 years ago

   If you had one chance to do so something different, what would it be?  Would it be returning a lost item?  Confessing to something that you did? Changing a decision that impacts someone else's life or your own? 
   
   I'll start:
   
   My "do over" would be complete my remaining years of university in med school and graduating top of class as a neurosurgeon specializing in pediatrics. 
   
   What's yours?

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   1. 0

      Stevennix2001posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      to be completely honest with you beth, i would probably would have taken more chances as a kid if i could do it all over again.  the reason why i say this is because throughout most of my life, i lived trying to uphold to an image my parents and everyone else thought i should be, and never once followed my heart and dreams to a lot of things.  There was even times i had chances to participate in things that could have been life changing. 
      
      Such events like the time when famous actor and recently elected california governor, Arnold Schwarzennegger visited my elementary school, as a kid, and the teacher's were looking for volunteers to participate in a work out program where all the kids would work out and meet him.  I wanted to meet him too, but my father discouraged me because he reminded me how much i would gripe and complain about the other kids picking on me in pe so much that i didn't go.  although I told him i didn't care about that as I wanted to meet the guy, but my father yelled at me until i finally broke down and agreed that it was a silly idea.
      
      Then there was the time when i had a huge crush on this one girl in middle school, who happened to be like the most popular girl in school too.  She was a middle school cheer leader, and she was dating some guy that was a jock.  Although I had a huge crush on her, I never once asked her out because i figured there wouldn't be a chance she'd go for a average guy like me, but it turns out from my brother, who talked to her before she moved.  She told him that she would've dumped her boyfriend to be with me, because she actually liked me too.   lol  Oh well.  I guess it shows you should never count yourself out before you even try at things.  lol. 
      
      Then there was the time when my school asked me if I wanted to participate in a foreign exchange student program, which would've had me go live with a Russian family for a while.  Take in mind, it has always been a life long dream for me to travel the world, so getting the chance to see another country would've been life changing and special to me.  However, my father yelled at me again, saying it wasn't such a good idea because there was the possibility that i could be hurt, and said that he knew i wouldn't like it up there.  which might be true, but it still doesn't diminish the fact, that it's still a life long dream of mine to see the world someday.....
      
      
      plus, there was even my passion once for drawing.  i used to love drawing every single day as a kid, as it was one of the many things that brought me joy.  in fact, as a kid i always used to love creating my own short stories too.  creating kind of my own amateur comic book series all hand drawn and written by me.  however, i gave it up once i started to get halfway through high school, as my parents and teachers both thought i was wasting my time doing it.  therefore, i gave up on my dream of creating short stories.  it was not an easy decision, as a part of me had to literally die just to give up doing something that made me so happy.  don't get me wrong, i tried so hard to get back into drawing again and writing fictitious stories too, but my heart just isn't as in it like before.  it's like a part of me that wants to still draw and write fiction is asking me, "whats the point?  you were never even good in the first place as your own family didn't believe in you, so why bother?"  i try to shake that off, but it's still there.  lol.  That's kind of why i stick to film reviews on here predominantly, as I don't know how well received my fictional work would be on here.  Anyway, sorry to bore you with all that.  However, I was just trying to illustrate a point.
      
      My point being that if i could change one thing about my life, i would've definitely have made more chances.  sure, they probably never would've made my life any better but at least, I wouldn't have it in the back of my mind all the time asking....what if?

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2. 58

   climberjamesposted 14 years ago

   I was once in the Fear Factor live competition at Universal Studios.
   
   I got all the way to the final and was way faster than my competitor, I reached the finish but it tured out I had missed a flag that I needed to collect - 1 flag!

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   1. 86

      Polly Cposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Oh no, how annoying!  What is Fear Factor btw, James? Is that something you did as a child?

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   2. 58

      climberjamesposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hey Polly,
      
      No I was about 17, it was liek some extreme challenge thing:
      
      http://themeparks.universalstudios.com/fearfactorlive/
      
      Bit of an epic fail really . . . I was doing so well too :S

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3. 86

   Polly Cposted 14 years ago

   To be more focused in my late teens and early twenties, rather than think that the future was just a faraway planet never to be reached....and to take a gap year to go backpacking, as the moment has been lost now.

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4. 60

   SomewayOuttaHereposted 14 years ago

   i'd do over the last 2 years of my life....but maybe tomorrow, i'd want to keep them just as they were...ask me again in 6 months.

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5. 82

   Rafiniposted 14 years ago

   my life - just can't determine at what starting point.... 
   
   If I could change my parents, would I still be me?
   If I could change my birth date, would I still be me?
   If I could change how I was brought up, would I still be me?
   If I could change my environment, would I still be me?
   If I could change my experiences, would I still be me?
   
   
   If I could do my life over again I would hope to do it better the second time around.

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6. 71

   Beth100posted 14 years ago

   I've been mulling this over today....
   
   Another do over for me would be to have stopped and not taken that last run down the ski hill.  Then, I would have spent the following two years travelling instead of spending them in recovery learning how to walk again.

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7. 85

   rebekahELLEposted 14 years ago

   I would have told that guy Bunker Hill (really) in the college commons room that he was wrong!

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8. 71

   Beth100posted 14 years ago

   Is that really his name?!?   

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   1. 85

      rebekahELLEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      yes!! can you imagine??

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      1. 72

         Jeff Berndtposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Heh. Bunker.

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9. 83

   kerrygposted 14 years ago

   I'd have majored in biology instead of Russian. I love Russian and it's certainly proved useful given that I'm married to a Russian speaker, but I never really intended to make a career out of it. Career-wise, I'm more interested in conservation biology and natural resources management. Here on HubPages, I get to write about them, at least, but I ought to have gotten a degree and a real job in the field.

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10. 81

    manlypoetrymanposted 14 years ago

    Dang...This is hard...How about I just start with doing over High School...and go from there

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11. 93

    Rochelle Frankposted 14 years ago

    Every choice, decision and mistake we make plays into what and who we are today.
    Changing any of it would possibly make your present life very different-- for better or worse-- in ways you could not imagine.

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12. 71

    Beth100posted 14 years ago

    @ Steven -- no matter what "do over" we choose, we will always have that "what if" question as long as we're not happy with our own decisions.
    
    @ Rochelle -- You're absolutely correct.  The question is if we did change one thing, would it have made us "better" in the long run.  Maybe giving that sandwich to a fellow student who didn't have enough to eat may have changed how we take things for granted and caused us to be more kind and giving. 
    
    @ MPM -- That's a good start! 
    
    @ kerry -- never too late to go back to school - even if it is part time.  With e-learning, anything is possible!
    
    @ Rebekah --   You get the last laugh!
    
    @ Rafini -- Every point is a great starting point. 
    
    @ Someway -- yea, me too! 
    
    @ Polly -- good to be focussed, but ya have to enjoy your age too! 
    
    @ Climberjames -- ah, that's terrible!  I can understand why you chose this.
    
    

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    1. 82

       Rafiniposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       my response goes with Rochelle's - our choices create who we are, would I really want to change anything about myself?  The only thing I can come up with is to do it better the second time, meaning - to accept my choices as my choices and not resent or regret them.  
       
       So...my answer remains - at what point did I start resenting or regretting my choices where I would want a 'do over'?

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13. 76

    Mighty Momposted 14 years ago

    Great idea and great thread!
    For me, the biggest "do-over" would be having more than one child. However, circumstances being what they were at the time, that was not a possibility.
    Still, it's a regret.
    And NOT something I can literally go back and do over at this point in my life (unlike getting a Master's in psychology:-). MM

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14. 71

    Beth100posted 14 years ago

    I'd redo this thread over!   

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15. 61

    Stimpposted 14 years ago

    I would have listened to my instinct on November 15, 2008 and would have stayed home from the trail ride that took Ben's (my friesian horse) life.  HOWEVER, having said that, had it not have been for his death....he'd have not "brought" me Ty, my new Friesian horse.  Who is currently in training and who I just found out is Ben's 1/2 cousin by the same grandfather......Ben was imported from Holland and Ty was bred here in the states, so that is VERY amazing that their "mom's" are 1/2 sisters!!!

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16. 74

    Kangaroo_Jaseposted 14 years ago

    I have been told by one friend, that when the technology improves, I should sign up for a personality transplant. Mind you I think this was said in retort to me making a friendly jibe at them (gotta love friends).
    
    Ok I hear crickets now...... (sheesh, tough crowd!!)
    
    Seriously though, I am already doing that with aspects of my life that I have control over, as Raf suggested, I can 'redo' with a 2nd or more often attempt, those things in life I have tried and failed, and maybe will have a better outcome the second time around.
    
    I cannot change those other aspects that have chapters closed earlier in life (such as redo-ing my entire first 12 years of education) and would not want to.

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