No Looking Back

Recently, my almost eighteen-year old niece asked me a very interesting question. She wanted to know if I could go back to my college days, would I. My answer was a resounding “no”. She seemed really surprised with my answer and said I was the first adult she’d asked who had said no.

I thought that was interesting. Who are these adults who want to go back to being poor, eating Raman noodles, and cramming for exams into the wee hours of the morning? You see, while I did enjoy my college days, I have no desire to go backwards. This is how I explained my answer to my niece.

Every experience, no matter if it was good, bad, or absolutely horrible, has made me the person I am today. Every decision I’ve made has brought to me where I am now. And every person with whom I have interacted has helped to shape me in one way or another. I’m not saying that I’m perfect or that I’ve achieved everything I’ve wanted to in life. On the contrary. But I can say that I like where I am in this stage of my life.

I hear people say things like “oh to be twenty-one again.” No thank you! I remember twenty-one and it was a nice place to visit but that’s all!

I have made many wrong decisions and traveled down many paths that should have lead me to a worse ending than they did, but thankfully those decisions, actions, and reactions gave me the wisdom and knowledge to make better decisions the next time around. I am now and will continue to be a work in progress until the day I die. However, I would like to think that the masterpiece God made me to be is shaping up pretty nicely.

So no, dear niece, I have no desire to relieve my college years, teenage years, early twenties, thirties, or any other age for that matter. Heck, I don’t even want to redo last week! Life should be about living in the moment and preparing for the future, and not getting bogged down with the woulda, coulda, and shouldas that can sometimes distort our focus. I am excited about my life right now and even what lies ahead. I imagine it’s going to be quite a ride!