If given the chance to go back in time and prevent (not immediately fix, but prevent) yourself from making some of the biggest mistakes/errors you made in your life–and by default negate any life lesson you may have learned from them–or would you leave your past alone; taking solace in their having shaped the person you are today (possibly making you as wise as you are?)

I often wonder about this. Now on one hand, were it not for the times I screwed up, I probably wouldn't have turned out as well as I have, however it would be nice to go through life without the annoying voices in my head constantly reminding me 'ooh you were stupid there'.

Not really, sometimes I say I would but then what would I have to learn from?

I'm happy where I've ended up so no. There are some things that I would change that seem inconsequential to my life that would have had possibly a big effect on someone else's life though.

When I was 13 I was at my best friends house and her brother in law came over and raped her (she was 13 too and we were home alone). I wish that I had called the police, no adult ever found out about it. She said everything was fine and I was scared though...

I would leave the past alone. The past makes you who you are now, and if you turned out a decent person, then that's all you can ask for. I turned out halfway-decent and that's good enough for me. Life itself can screw people up, and if you turned out okay, you're a lucky person, instead of all the craziness taking you over.

thepossiblepolice wrote:

There are some things that I would change that seem inconsequential to my life that would have had possibly a big effect on someone else's life though.

I can completely relate. I've made huge mistakes in my life that hurt someone else, and those things I would change.

Life lessons from past mistakes are consolation prizes for the endlessly optimistic. I don't value any of my past screw up's that much to consider them that sacred. If I could undo some major flub I made that had a nasty fallout then I would.

AtownPeep wrote:

Life lessons from past mistakes are consolation prizes for the endlessly optimistic. I don't value any of my past screw up's that much to consider them that sacred. If I could undo some major flub I made that had a nasty fallout then I would.

Seriously. Hell fucking yeah I would go back and prevent just about every damn thing I thought I did wrong.

I try to learn from my mistakes but I haven't fucked anything up bad enough were I'd want a do-over. Besides, as another Al a lot smarter than me once said, "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."

I don't think so. I've learned from each of my mistakes and I really don't know if I'd be where I am today if I hadn't made those mistakes.