I’m sure you have all heard the phrases that go something like this: “If I only knew then what I know now…”, “Hindsight is 20/20”, “I wish I would have done things differently”.
The older I get, the more the phrases above seem to cross my mind. As I experience life and all of the ups and downs it entails, it is easy to look back and consider the choices I made, good and bad, that brought me to where I am today.
Everyone is different: backgrounds, cultures, geographical locations, life experiences, family, financial situation, etc., and we all have different paths that we will go on. While I do not look back on my life with total regret, here are some of the things I might have done differently….
1. Scholarships and loans
I never heard anyone say the following: “I wish I would have not applied for so many scholarships. I wish I would have borrowed more in student loans.”
When I was going through the process of paying for college, I did not apply for (or receive) any scholarships. Not one. I did, however, apply for and receive a lot of student loans. I didn’t consider the future ramifications that borrowing a lot of student loans would cause. I only thought about the easiest way to get money to pay for college and a lot of extras that I could have gotten along without. I actually did not know how much I had borrowed in student loans until the time I graduated from college. It took me 15 years and a lot of added interest to pay them off. I wish I would have applied for more scholarships and borrowed way less in student loans.
2. Advice from Knowledgeable People
I think most people remember when they were 18-25 years old, how they knew pretty much everything. I was the same. While I did take some advice from parents, teachers, etc., I also disregarded a lot of valuable advice. I am not saying that all advice is good advice, however, I wish I would have had a more open mind to the advice from people that “have been there” and at least considered what they had to say.
3. College Major and Career Options
Don’t me wrong, I like what I do for a career..I just wish I would I have taken a different route to get to where I am today. What I mean is, I wish I would have done more research and soul searching, thought more about the future, when I was considering my goals for the future. Had I done that, I probably would have saved myself a lot of time and money to get to where I am today.
4. Investing for the Future
What I am talking about here is thinking about my financial future. I wish I would have listened to knowledgeable people a long time ago when it came to retirement and investing. When I was 25 years old, my uncle asked me if I had ever thought about investing in the stock market. I told him that I had not, that I could not afford to. He told me that when I had an extra $500 or so, he could help me invest and learn how to make money. I never did take him up on that offer.
My uncle had retired at a fairly young age (in his early 50’s) and spent a lot of his time learning about and investing in the stock market. He became very wealthy and in looking back on that conversation, I wish I would have taken him up on his offer to help me learn about finances (and hopefully make a lot of money!). Who knows, maybe I would have been retired by now!!
It is easy to look back at life and think about how things might have been different if only I had done this, or if only I had not done that. I believe the main thing is to learn from the past and go on from there. Hopefully, though, students and young adults will be open-minded enough to consider some of the points I raised above…especially number 2! 😊
John - ICAN Waterloo and Hiawatha Centers
