What would you have chosen as a different path for your life?

[AOIIalum]

Originally Posted by AnotherKD

What about yourselves? What do you WANT to be doing? You may be doing one job now, but looking back with 20/20 hindsight, what would you have done?

I would have gone to the school that I truly wanted to attend instead of where my parents forced me to attend. I truly think that I would been happier during those years, done better academically and had a more positive experience as I moved into adult life. (I started college at 17 and was EXTREMELY sheltered by my parents. College was truly a culture shock to me!)

I would have changed majors after my first year, instead of sticking with a major that clearly was not a fit because "it was expected of me". Luckily I figured it out and eventually earned my degree in a field of study that I love. Took 16 years to earn said degree, but I've got it!

Post-college though I have few regrets. Maybe working harder to really learn and retain Spanish? I've been able to stay home with our kids and work mostly part-time, been married to the same guy since meeting him in college (one of the few positives thanks to my alma mater, along with a few cherished friends and AOII, of course!) and have a pretty good life. Makes all of the earlier things pale in comparison!

[FSUZeta]

knowing what i know now, i would have majored in classics or religion, pursued a phd. and been a college professor, preferably at a small college.

[ZTA72]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

knowing what i know now, i would have majored in classics or religion, pursued a phd. and been a college professor, preferably at a small college.

Me too! As I've said in another thread, I worked as an ER then OR nurse, met my husband...had children...who are going to med school...
I wish I had been a Kindergarten teacher, which was my first choice..way back when.
Although, I wouldn't have changed the hubby and kids part of the above.

[FHwku]

i would spend more time with my cousins. we still keep in touch, but there was a time when we were much closer.

i could have done much more with our philanthropies in college. resources were much easier to organize in the fraternity and it was something i enjoyed. the annual trip to bring supplies and money down to Ronald McDonald House in Memphis and St. Jude's should've been more like once-a-semester.

[lovespink88]

For the most part I'm happy with my choices. I'm pretty sure I picked the right major for me, but I suppose time will tell, ha!

Before coming to college I thought I wanted to major in psychology in hopes of one day becoming a clinical psychologist, so I think that would be my answer.

I also would have not bothered with boys in high school, lol

And I would be a little bit more of a risk taker/outgoing. Sometimes I think I can be a little timid, and I worry that it may hold me back from some great experience one day.

But, like many others have said, these things aren't regrets. I'm still very happy with the way things turned out!!

[DSTRen13]

There is still that little part of me (it won't go away!) that always wonders what would have happened if I had the guts to apply to art school ...

[dukemama]

Originally Posted by 33girl

DON'T stay in a job where you are completely miserable. It destroys your psyche more than you can know.

BTDT. Truer words have never been spoken.

[epchick]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

I dunno, I can't think of anything. I'm very happy with my life, as of now, I guess. If anything, maybe a career change in planetary physics--but for the most part, I am very happy with my choices in life.

what is planetary physics? The planetary part sounds interesting....not so much the physics part.


I have really been thinking about this lately seeing as how it's been almost 2 years since I graduated college and still have found nothing.

I wish I could back and apply to EVERY school I was interested. Some of them i decided not to b/c I didn't want to waste the app fee. Maybe if I had, i could have found a school that would have given me some kind of scholarship/financial aid. Shoot...i had the grades (graduated w/ a 4.0) but i still couldn't get any merit type aid from any school.

I'd also stick to what I really liked. My 2 "loves" have been international relations and Criminology....my university didn't have a major (or anything) for either. Now i'm thinking of grad school, but I don't think i could get into one of those fields w/ my degree.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Yeah my biggest thing would have been to study something I love like History instead of trying to go for a major that makes good money. all well too late now.

[Leslie Anne]

Yeesh! I'd like a do-over for most of my life!

One tiny thing would have been taking that trip to New Orleans. Maybe nothing would have happened but I wonder about it.

[Sister Havana]

I would have gone with English as my second concentration from the get-go and not worried that it was "too close" to journalism, which was my major. (In the J-school we were required to have a second concentration. I picked French because I had tested into 300 level classes so I figured I could get it done quickly. WRONG. I hated every French class I took at IU and loved every English class - you'd think I'd have gotten the clue sooner and avoided a lot of heartache and horrific grades.)

[CougarGrad]

I'm also happy where I'm at now, but every once in a while I do wonder how my life would've been different if I'd gotten accepted at the one school I applied to that I didn't get into.

I majored in international studies relating to one particular country, and practically speaking, it would've helped if I'd studied abroad there after graduation instead of staying here and working to save for my wedding. I'd speak the language much better than I do (I'm so pathetic now), and maybe I'd even have gotten a job in the field.

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by AnotherKD

cheerfulgreek, I'm super jealous. I wish I had actually worked hard (instead of slacking off a bit) and done what I know NOW I could have done, but I guess that's where I am right now and why I'm doing what I'm doing. I know I'm lucky to have a well-paying job and a house and husband I love, but it sure would be nice if I didn't wake up every morning and as soon as I think about going to work, I think... UURRRRGGGGHHHHH...... dammit.......

:-)

Well, it's not too late to make a career change. I know the older we get, sometimes it gets harder to do that. But, I think it's important to do something you really enjoy, so that way it doesn't really feel like you're going to work. Ya know what I mean? Do you have any hobbies? That's always a start. Just think about some of the things you enjoy and expand on that. I wish you the best of luck, I know things will work out for you.

Originally Posted by epchick

what is planetary physics? The planetary part sounds interesting....not so much the physics part.

Physics can be boring sometimes (I actually hated it in highschool and undergrad), but it's impossible to understand how planets work without understanding physics. I guess I can use Earth as an example, like let's say you live in an underground house below the surface of the Earth, there actually would be more gravity on the Earth's surface than below it and that's because some of the Earth's mass is above your head when you are in the house and that mass pulls up on you and pretty much cancels the effect of some of the mass below your feet which pulls down on you. Or let's say you lived at the very center of the Earth. I mean, not that it's possible to live there but if you did, in that case, there would be no gravity at all. It would be just like floating in zero g in a spaceship or something. And that's because there would be equal amounts of Earth above and below you. Things on the surface of the Earth where we actually live (thank God) experience the most gravity. So, long story short, the longer our distance is from Earth into space, the weaker the gravity, the closer to the center of the Earth we get it also gets weaker. I could get into the size of the planets/atmospheres/escape velocity/black holes finite/infinite/speed of light etc. because there's so much more to it than just the planets themselves.

Here's a very interesting youtube to give a more interesting definition. We live life daily on Earth and we take a lot of things for granted. The forces of gravity (not just our own gravity) around us keeps us alive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PMNj3We4v4

I could have just told you to google it, but I love chatting about it so..

Didn't mean to bore anyone.

[LucyKKG]

I wish I had at least applied to more schools. I only applied to TWO colleges! There are a lot of reasons I didn't like my school but I know I wouldn't have had the same Greek experience elsewhere.

[PrettyBoy]

No, I wouldn't change a thing. I've been wanting to design cars since I was knee high to a duck. I'm now living my dream, though I'm not done pursuing other things. I've been drawing cars since I was 12, but have been into cars since I was 2 (according to my parents). When I was a kid, I used to play with my little hot wheels cars so much that it put holes in the knees of my pajamas. I'm also interested in pursuing a masters in sculpting or pottery, and eventually I would like to get an MBA too. I love art and it has nothing to do with money, it's all about what I love and what I'm passionate about. We only live once, so I'm taking advantage of my God given talent. I also remember all through highschool, I wanted to have a car company to bare my name like Enzo Ferrari, Ferruccio Lamborghini, Ettore Bugatti, Henry Ford, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, the Maserati brothers, Alejandro De Tomaso, etc. Now, I realize that's a little too much, but it's still in the back of my mind. Who knows? Maybe.

Here's where I went to school after I graduated with my undergrad degree.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7zQDmz2SII

And what I do to put food on the table.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg7LEQfwrCY

ETA: I never had a plan B, but I wouldn't mind test driving Ferraris for a living.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU-EPRHuwg4