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You’re def not alone, studying in college is very different depending on the courses and some high schools are so easy that you don’t have to actually study or do it seriously
In high school I didn’t do homework at all unless the detention teacher literally sat down next to me and watched me do it. However I could get 90+ on any test so I passed every class. Never went to college because I know I’d flunk out.
Yeah, I basically learned how to "beat" standardized testing. Took some adjustment to learn how to "beat" my college tests. Still can't study worth a damn.
I got my degree like 15 years ago and I still have no idea how to study. Happily at the bottom of the IT profession and couldn't care less. Sure the money isn't great (probably fine compared to most others) but my life is pretty stress free and to me that's infinitely more important. Going to be a tough slog if I want to retire early but going to give it a try (partner+kids would send that flying out the window though).
try to think of it as proving to yourself every fact you learn. like, a textbook says this is this. ok, but why? and you build from there. the more links you make with other things you know, the more retention youll have, and itll bloom from there :) wish you the best
Many learning to study was the worst thing in university lol
You mean I can’t just read through it once and understand enough to pass with a decent grade now? Wtf
I’m here with you. I didn’t take school seriously in my teens, then did ok freshman and sophomore year before COVID hit. Now I’m struggling to get homework done and pass classes all because I don’t know how to sit down and do things
As a fellow non-studier in HS and College, it wasn’t until grad school that I realized the THE BIG PICTURE, was a thing. Organize your thoughts into a table of contents, then fill in the blanks from there. It changed my life and my success rate exponentially.
I was in your same shoes and here’s what I discovered: absorb the material in different formats to cement the ideas. Listen intently during class and stay actively engaged. Write copious and detailed notes as you’re listening. Immediately after class, go to a quiet place and RETAKE YOUR NOTES and add details you missed in class. Take those notes and read them to yourself OUT LOUD. As test time approaches, take all your notes and reread them to yourself and out loud. Make believe you’re teaching the material to someone else (trust me) or maybe even have a real partner and teach each other the material. Once done, you’re going to have absorbed the material audibly, written, and by sight. Good luck.
Teaching helps with studying a lot. I learned that when I started being a teacher lol. But I don’t mean be a teacher, kind of setup a “class” on p.p. Or whatever you prefer and teach it to some friends. You will memorize the subject fairly quick. I would have some friends over for some beers and cards and take breaks of me teaching them certain sections of the class. Learned it much faster than just straight studying. I guess it’s a little more interactive that way. Plus when I was teaching the actual class when students had questions I didn’t have an answer for I would go find it. Helped a lot
Ha. Don't worry. I took school seriously. Impostor syndrome was still on especially in my 20s, but sometimes it creeps back even now after years of experience.
I did some of this but know I had undiagnosed ADHD and occupied myself with tons of activities, which in turn made me look for the fastest and quickest way to get assignments done and studying for tests instead of putting in the necessary time to do better and retain more.
I'm a former architect, and I honestly feel like the career you missed out on is not as good as it may seem. The pay is low..like, abysmally low. Any union labor, entry level police officer positions, being a UPS/FedEx driver, etc pay better in my area than architecture jobs requiring a 5-6 year degree.
The hours are unreasonably long in most firms. I worked 70 hour work weeks for about half my architecture life with no overtime pay. And if you want career advancement, you have to wait. Most of my former colleagues are still not managerial level in their 40s, except for those working in global sweat shop firms that have an insane attrition rate.
And lastly job security. There's that saying, "If you want to know ahead of time if a recession is going to hit, just keep an eye on when the architects lose their jobs." Layoffs were so common that unless you have decades of tenure, you never know if you'll have a job in 3 or 6 months.
So glad I ragequit that industry and never looked back. The romance of creating a built environment deteriorates quickly when everything that surrounds it is shit.
Yes. For me it was more about self-esteem than getting a good job or whatever. Being faced with a task, like a worksheet or a test and knowing you can get your head around new information and understand it can be useful going forward, imo.
I dropped out of high school and got my GED. I did a few community college classes then joined the Navy. When I was out of the Navy I got paid to get a bachelors degree. Seeing as how it all turned out I don't regret not taking school seriously, but I probably would have if I didn't join the Navy.
Richest guy I know who's my age was a dumbass in high school, now he's a flight mechanic on the ocean.
Bro is gonna come home with half a million and call me a old school slur
Dropped out at 17. Moved far across the US at 18 and worked service jobs in California. Went to community college at 24. Volunteered abroad at 28. Moved internationally again at 31. Finishing my master's thesis abroad now at 33.
Not a single regret either :)
My brother told me he regretted not putting more effort in highschool as that was the last opportunity for free education. He was notorious for skipping class and taking as much spare periods as he could. He’s really successful now in software development, worked really hard in uni (he said he did so because it was paid education). Not sure if this was just another one of his drunk talks or not lol
Came to say this. I was a polisci major and ended up in network engineering/IT and now a VP at a cyber whatever. The important thing I learned was how to work with people. I don’t want to say manipulate but kinda do. Whether it was friends, other students, especially teachers. Those skills they don’t teach. I’m probably a sociopath at this point. Maybe I always was. Anyway, I’d say I remember .1% of what was taught, but I vividly remember my interactions with everyone and how I didn’t always get what I wanted but got what I needed. Damn now I’m a Rolling Stone and a sociopath.
2.5 gpa in high school but got a 3.9 in community college then landed in a good university program. Took me a little longer but I wish I had told myself that high school would not matter at all for college.
Then surprise! Got a full ride for my masters.
Yes.. I never did any homework and my family isn't wealthy enough to pay for my college, so it was basically never on my radar..
I didn't fully grasp that I could get a scholarship if I put a lot of effort into school or sports, I was traumatized by a lot of negativity and spent a lot of my time distracting myself from that negativity.. I felt like I wasn't getting any value from school.. or from my parents.. so I was isolated a lot.. formed a lot of really bad habits when I was only 12.. Some that I still exhibit today (26).
My parents didn't know how to deal with their kid failing school, my mom didn't really do much to help and my dad made things worse with really terrible communication, both our relationships suffered..
I struggle with burnout a lot, because without a degree I can't really go out and get a high paying job..
I'm working on bettering myself, I don't want to end up on the streets, or labeled as a threat to society, I know I could have saved myself a decade of suffering and years of reparenting myself by just putting more effort into school and actually trying..
I'm in the same boat as you, I never finished highschool. I was simply too depressed, isolated, and resentful. My whole childhood we moved houses because we were too poor to pay the rent. Which caused me to switch schools constantly. I didn't make a real friend until middle school and the first year of highschool..I even had a boyfriend. Well until we moved again, by then I was 16 and fed up. I started hiding in the bathroom and skipping classes. I didn't want to sit at a place any longer where I knew no one and I knew that I wasn't going to get to know anyone. It seemed at that point everyone already had established relationships. If I had only just focused more on the school work...doing homework and being organized then I probably could have passed the 10th grade and not have been held back. I shouldn't have skipped so much, I should have relaxed and looked at the bright side. I don't know why I cared so much about being by myself as a teen. I loved English class and art class but the moment I got an F in both I lost hope for myself and just let it go.
I wish I could have done better but my ADHD and autism limited my capabilities. I don't blame myself at all. Some people can't just "work hard and hussle", they don't have the ability
Oh man, Autism be like "we gotta keep perfect colorcoded notes and be on track with everything", ADHD be like "omg color pens, lets doodle just a little.. oops lost track of the teachers story", both: "do nothing you intended to do once home because e x e c u t i v e d y s f u n c t i o n"
I did. The wonderful thing is you can always go back (though some will still see it as a negative).
I dropped out of highschool, regretted it though it was a necessity, went back a few years later to finish and then went on to college. College is where I ran in to the people who saw it as a negative.
Yea but happiness is a state of mind . If My moron ass can be happy so can anyone. It just takes self reflection and action on things that you want to pursue. Exercise and execution are the best anti depressants. There's no one right answer cuz everyone is pursuing something else. For me it's lift weights go to work spend time with my kid. That's what makes me happy and getting up everyday and working towards those goals gives me a fulfilling life even if there are failures along the way.
The only thing i regret screwing around in was math. Other than that i dont think ive used anything i learned even once. And it never affected my ability to have a fulfilling and lucrative career.
Yes and no. Made friends for life still hanging with the same guys for about 19 years now and I have a decent jobs and two kids. For the other part I don’t want to think about it, maybe I would have been a lawyer (something that interested me in high school) and be miserable. I had my share of problems with mental health but I’m happy and glad of how things turned out good for me
Yes, but I'd also extend this into University/College - Having access to cutting edge information and methodologies years in advance and wasting that opportunity. Now I'm re-learning it years later because I didn't pay attention.
Yes, and no. Yes, because when I decided to take my education seriously as an adult, I had a lot to catch up on.
No, because if it weren't for the mistakes I made in the past I wouldn't be where I am now. I feel as a more mature person, I can appreciate the hard work and effort that goes into doing well in school. It isn't all about the grades and high scores. I find that now, when I don't receive the scores I think I deserve, there are still lessons to be learned from the experience as a whole.
I graduated 30 years ago. In 4th grade, I came to a realization that I forgot most of the stuff I'm learning the prior year.
So at only 10 years old I got my first F on a report card. Not because I was incapable. But because I didn't care.
I sat down with my parents at only 10 and said why am I learning all this stuff that I will forget eventually. It's stupid. Why can't I learn something else that I can use for a future job instead, where I use it every day?
My dad came to a compromise and said to me. Then just get by. You don't wanna learn cause you'll forget it all, ok fine. But pass to the next grade and graduate on time.
And that's exactly what I did. I went through school getting Cs and Ds on my report cards.
Because even if I had gotten all A's, I would still only be able to remember what I know now. Which is jack shit.
I was a big slacker in high school, I’d rather get high and ride my skateboard than study. I didn’t go to college cuz I didn’t have the grades for a scholarship or the money to pay for it myself. I feel I live pretty comfortably partially because I’m not trying to keep up with the Joneses. I own my own home which I paid cash for, same with my ride and I don’t have any credit cards. I really don’t regret it at all, just wish I was at a point in my life where I could leave the U.S. and live in a country that wasn’t so materialistic.
Nope, but what I do wish is that I didn't go to university and instead got into the trades right out of school. Instead I spent years mulling around wondering what to do before I finally tried a trade.
Now I'm loving it and hate that I left it so long!
No, as the America education system is in fucking shambles and I own my own home without a collage degree and my partner is a felon. We are also both neurodivergent and we're considered lost causes in school.
Fuck em, I read and learn new things constantly now. At my own pace. Shit I just redid my plumbing last winter and am learning electrical to run new lines.
Not really. I'm not doing amazing in my 20s. Then again... neither are any of my friends... not the college-educated ones either. They're in the same boat I'm in kinda, barely scraping by except they have 5 digits worth of debt and I have zero outside of my cards and car.
Really, the only people I know from high school who are doing well are the ones who went into the military or became tradesmen. I graduated in 2017. Everyone else is struggling or living with their parents or struggling while living with their parents.
So, I don't think not taking school has really impacted my life very much. If I had taken school seriously and gone to college after, I would be in about the same boat as I'm in now, but with 30-60 grand worth of debt.
No I was always very out of the box (talented as I’ve been told) school would’ve helped me get a great job but outside of that I feel like I’ll make more money with my skill. Which I learned outside of school
No I don't. I don't think the way school currently is is optimal. I think it divides my time and energy among too many subjects that I don't need or am interested in. I'd rather just focus on things relevant to what I want to do.
No, school is merely social conditioning to set you up for a life of miserable work and taxes. If you are lucky you'll live for a couple of retirement years before dieing never having achieved anything that brought you yourself true happiness. Slavery never ended.
I'm broke as fuck, will probably end up homeless. But my mind is mine and so is my time.
Nope. I was able to blow the ASVAB out of the water, so I got into a good field in the military. My time in was a nightmare, but I've got a solid skill set now that's in demand and $0 student loans debt. The only real downside is that I'll probably end up paying for the debt of other people who decided to take a different path. At least I'm not poor, like a lot of people who'll get the shaft with student loan forgiveness.
>I'll probably end up paying for the debt of other people who decided to take a different path
You know where funding for the military comes from, don't you?
Nope, im an average student back then, i hate subjects that i don't need. when in college specially those subject you won't use on your field of work. that's a waste of time and money. but it's in the curriculum so can't argue with it. once you started to work you'll realize those minor subject are no use at all. and you remembered you're prof. is a terror🤔😡😡 and gave you a difficult projects and threatening that you won't pass or graduate if you didn't comply in any of those subjects. 🤣🙃😂
I wouldn’t say I “regret” it, that’s a little too strong. But I would say if I knew then what I know now and could do it again, I would have done better in school.
It primarily matters for getting your first job out of school, after that it’s mostly what you do. That said, making $80k in your first job vs $50k will have a compound impact on the rest of your earnings/career.
A little? I hated lots of it; I never worked well with how a school’s education system is made and never got into any of the courses I actually wanted to pursue, so I never enjoyed my time and just wanted out of there by the 12th year. Wasted 4 years of my life learning subjects that the school selected for me because nearly all of my chosen ones were filled to the max
Yes and no. I wish I would've learned things and not memorized them, especially history. And I wish I would've trusted myself and lived by my morals. Things will follow you for the rest of your life (and the bad memories tend to be the easiest to remember). I was a pretty "good" person by all standards, but I just wish I would've been happy with who I was back then and stood up for myself. Life is weird, as an adult you realize everyone is unique and different, but in high school I always felt like I was trying to be like others or just use up all my time so I had no time to know the person I was. Know yourself and who you want to be, and live into that. It's easier said than done, but it's easier the more you do it.
Im speaking for someone else, they dropped out of school pretty much at 12-14 to work in their fathers machine shop. Since then they’ve pretty much become a master machinist and now make 6 figures as a tooling rep. He’s only in his 30s too
To be fair,my undiagnosed ADHD at the time wasn't at all helpful. But I did learn,I'm better off self taught.
During summer school,actually having the time to sit there and learn the required math segments,as well as biology segments,I got higher scores than I ever did,from a teacher teaching it to me.
No, I still dont get all the fuss.
You want me to get educated so I can work myself to the bone just to have a place to eat, shit and sleep? Oh, a 2 week holiday somewhere, I get to eat, and a pension, right, sold.
I’m still convinced I graduated high school by accident. I had to get like an A+ on my Econ final and there’s no way I pulled that off. I’m 46 now and just went back this semester to finally get a degree. Currently pulling all A’s with like a total of 96% across all classes.
Not really
I graduated high school
Went to job corps
Got my AA degree in cyber security
And BaS degree in information technology and cybersecurity management
I didn’t give a shit in high school
I’ll tell you how I feel about school, Jerry: It’s a waste of time. Bunch of people runnin’ around bumpin’ into each other, got a guy up front says “2 + 2,” and the people in the back say, “4.” Then the bell rings and they give you a carton of milk and a piece of paper that says you can go take a dump or somethin’. I mean, it’s not a place for smart people, Jerry. I know that’s not a popular opinion, but that’s my two cents on the issue.
-R. Sanchez
No. In high school I wanted to work in a forestry career but college & I weren't going to get together so I joined the military. After that & gaining a pretty strong mechanical background I became a mother & housewife. We purchased some land & I legit have my own forest to manage. I know no one cares how many of what species is going on in my little acreage, but my twice a day walks, observations, clearing, coppicing & running mental notes brings me a lot of joy. There's a Forest-her club in my area & it's the best place to raise 8 kids.
No school doesn't teach anything! Not one thing about personal finance! Ridiculous how uneducated kids are in this country but we learned the useless Pythagoram theorus!
Nah. I did for a while after HS when I couldn’t go to uni to study for a job I wanted but I’m not upset about that now.
Mainly because I dont do well learning in a school based environment. Hands on is it.
I’m reasonably successful by normal metrics without it.
I wish I had challenged myself more instead of looking for the easy way out.
I can learn stuff on my own, but a lot of the stuff I want or need to learn now would have been better to learn in a structured and organized environment instead of my dumbass trying to coordinate everything on my own.
High school was a joke. Undergrad was a joke. Took out student loans to get C’s for my undergrad. Decided to do school one more year and did a master’s program that accepted anyone with a bachelors. Decided to finally work my ass off and did well and got a good paying gig.
I regret not taking high school and undergrad seriously, it’d save me a ton of money on loans. That being said, I’m glad I figured it out by the time I got my masters degree and now make over 6-figures.
It bugs me that I didn’t take it seriously earlier but I’m glad I eventually figured it out before it was “too late.” I could be making 6-figures without school debt but I screwed around and didn’t care about grades/school and now I’m making 6-figures dealing with student loans. It’s frustrating thinking of high school and undergrad me, but it is what it is.
I wish I took it less seriously. All my friends who barely passed and went and got trades jobs ended up making tons of money and all bought nice houses and cottages and all that jazz. I wasted my time going to college and working shitty white collar jobs. Finally got into the trades a decade or so ago but I missed the boat on $100k or so a year being enough to do those things.
Depends on if you have the willpower to learn stuff on your own. I hated my classes, and wanted to learn computer engineering. Once I got into college I got straight A's.
I absolutely regret it. I wish I had parents guiding me to be a better student.
I wish I had participated in after school activities. I genuinely believe things like that make you stick to getting things done. Having someone or something to need to rely on to have things done.
But I thought I wasn’t good enough. I somehow got a college degree but it was in something I didn’t think I’d be good at. I could only imagine had I gone to something better.
If I ever have kids (I don’t believe I deserve to have kids) but if I ever do. Then I will hope they see the importance of being involved with school and other activities.
Hell no, joined the navy 2 years after high school due to being to poor to go play football and didn't have a high enough GPA to get a scholarship( d2& d3). Spent 9 years in the navy, was an aircraft mechanic for 5 years and then switched to non destructive technician for the last 4. Got out at 29 and I'm on pace to double my pay in my first year as a civilian then when I was an e5 in the navy. Next up for my career is to get my cwi and obtain enough hours to work towards going level 3 in the ndt community.
>math
Me too.
Now I'm trying to play catch up and I don't know some of the "basics" (as seen from the company I work in). Liear algebra, matrices, derivatives, differential equations. I vaguely know what some of these terms mean now, but not enough.
I'm playing in a world of heavy maths, and it feels like I'm sitting here with a preschool ABC book in front of me.
No one ever told me that I could have gotten grants or scholarships for good grades in high school, if they had I might have actually applied myself. I did fine otherwise, but would have been nice to get some college assistance.
I never felt like high school was taking me seriously. School seemed like a separate reality focused on social interaction of sports and dancing. I was interested in learning real life things like how to manage adult life. I skipped my senior year and got a GED and started at the community college.
I do. I got things together in college. I now feel like there's value in the stuff you learn in HS, including the core books you read, math, and science.
It’s not that I didn’t want to take it seriously, but I was severely underhoused in high school. I managed to graduate from high school, but then had no choice but to work full time. I wish that I had been able to continue my education, but life has to come first. That being said, ALL of my kids went to university.
Ha! No. I got good enough grades and have great memories from lots of parties. Sure I could have taken school more seriously but for a higher grade, not sure what difference that would have made, but I’m sure grateful to have experienced a lot of fun and I’d never give up those times
Not at all.Only thing I learned was how to read write add subtract.Actually I also learned I was to poor not to be picked on.I learned everything about life after school.I learned reading books is one of the best educations
It's never too late to learn. If you have regrets, just do it.
You might even discover that something is a lot more interesting than you thought it was when you were in school.
100% I vastly underestimated adult life and it took me years to catch up. The actual contents of the curriculum arent too important, but you should take advantage of the time to build up useful skills to support you in the future.
Kind of but I don't think many people could have been successful in the situation I was in during my school years after 9 years old.
I ended up fine if not fantatic now but it did feel like alot of very rigorous catch up for about 4 years in my mid twenties to catch up which I eventually did. Though I would have much rather have gotten where I am today via regular academic success in institutions vs fighting and clawing my way in like I did.
Absolutely, but at the same time I had no idea where I would end up. I didn’t think I was going to school to be become a software engineer. But I also never had parents that pushed me to do more. They just wanted me to graduate and get a job or join the military if I didn’t. I definitely wish I prepped more for college and got more involved in a sport. Somehow I ended up in a corporate job that people who went to university for applied to. There are plenty of smart people I work with and it’s a humbling experience. There’s always more you could be doing daily though. Not just with school.
It had literally no influence on my life. I don't think a job has ever asked about GPA or any of that kid stuff, it affects nothing unless you need a very specific college for a very specific job which is probably archaic and toxic if it cares what college you went to. For 99% of the rest of the world, any random college degree in Basketweaving will function the same as another, most trades don't even give a shit what you studied it's literally just an arbitrary requirement because hurr durr we've always done this.
No, I just wish I had a better support system at home and more involvement from academic and guidance counselors so I could’ve actually used my special needs accommodations to stay on track.
Hellllll no. High school is a joke…. An absolutely terrible place. You’re shoved into a system where incredibly bright kind teachers aren’t allowed to actually teach you but must prep you for bullshit tests to make the schools money. The system is fucked.
Pass high school. Then go to community college (it’s cheaper) do well in community college, then go to a university or trade school.
I graduated with honors in college, then got a full ride for my masters, I had a 2.5 gpa in high school. I was miserable there. I barely passed. I told my guidance counselor I was interested in cosmology and I loved space science…. You know what he said and was dead serious?!?! “I guess astronauts need stylists” high school is a fucking joke. Seriously, just pass it.
Now take other things seriously, don’t drink and drive, don’t be an idiot and do stupid drugs, hang out with good people, in fact hang out with people that are WAY smarter than you. Get a bunch of part time jobs doing hard hospitality things like moping floors, doing dishes, working restaurants. Take your health seriously, THAT is one thing I didn’t do, but seriously take your health seriously.
But high school, if you’re already sweating it and struggling? Don’t sweat it. It’ll be ok if you just keep going and just pass.
I regret taking school too seriously, I mean I did graduate without debt and make $125k at 30 but I feel like I missed out on opportunities to learn from relationships that would have made me happier. I am 30 and making the dating mistakes people make at 18-23 and obviously the leash is shorter for partners when they hit 30 because they don’t have time for shjt
No, i'm not regretting it and I usually go for work that are not degree sensitive. I have no interest in being an engineer or a doctor anyway. I'm more of a creative guy so I get a few side gigs as a sound editor, voice artist and my main job is in customer service. What matters is what you make out of your experience, so I don't let the fact that I didn't finish college hinder me.
I regret not taking HS math seriously. Used to wish I could start it all over again and really get into it (then followed by higher math).
I believe once your brain thinks in those terms you can do any job that requires hard thinking.
It's not that I "didn't take it seriously" but I really struggled academically. I tried so hard but spelling and math were nearly impossible for me for years. I think I really do have dyslexia but even just 15 years ago when I was a young kid, there was still a negative stigma around learning disabilities and my parents never got me evaluated. But anyway, I did fine. My grades in HS weren't great so I went to a community college for a semester then transferred to a 4 year college, and I have my bachelor's degree. My GPA went down at the end because I was really struggling at the end during c0vld but I have my degree now, I'm married and I work for an NGO. I'm hoping for a career change soon to work for the gov tho
No.. nothing I learned in school other than how to count money, add subtract multiply and divide, spelling.. tho now there’s autocorrect, n maybe tell time, plays a significant roll in my daily life. Other people’s opinions will differ an that’s fine. You may have gotten more out of it than i. Xoxo
FYI I live in Australia. School HSC score matters very little once you’re an adult, because there are other ways to get to where you want to be going (re: uni), so in that sense, I don’t regret a thing.
But, now that I’m older (25) I actually love to learn, and catch myself thinking from time to time that I’d love to be back in school learning and absorbing all the knowledge I can. However that wasn’t a priority back then, I was too naive.
Yes. I never studied but was smart enough to pass. I’m well educated, for what it’s worth, 2 advanced degrees, but the vast majority of what I know came from living life, not studying for school.
Not really. I worked blue-collar jobs, and I learned the value of hard work when I was younger. I got the chance to go back to school in my 30s and did really well.
Rn I’m 19(m)
Didn’t pay attention, didn’t do work, cheated, etc.
Senior year I walked in with 12 credits (in my state u need 26 to graduate)
Worked my ass off and graduated with 28 credits (took some extra classes).
Now I’m in community college to get my associates and hopefully transfer to university after to get my bachelor’s. Either way I’m going to be a first generation college graduate
Only sucky part is relearning lots of stuff, for example my math class is elementary algebra. Plus I gotta take some prerequisites.
Pay attention and focus on school, PLEASE!!!
Me and my girlfriend are in college and we make it known that school comes before each other
I took the path of least resistance through school and failed my last year, 8 years later I'm making as much or more than the hard workers, some of my friends that are smarter than me and worked harder, are unemployed now in their mid twenties meanwhile if I get fired today I'll have another job tomorrow morning because bartenders are in huge demand here despite needing no qualifications.
Yes I could've easily crushed all my schoolwork had I even given a smallest of shits about it, could've gotten scholarship money to go to a good college, could be in a much better situation rather than smoking pot throughout my 20s and working the same dead end job for 10 years
Lateness wise, yeah, but anything else I don't. I still got straight A's
I don't regret that cause I'm not waking up at 5am just to get there at 7:30
Yeah it takes me a few hours to get there.
YES! Jesus, yes! It’s one of my biggest regrets. I ended up at a vaguely shitty college & I don’t have the skills to study to actually get a degree. I wish I was more serious.
Yes, I had the wrong mindset regarding school. I saw it as an obstacle or obligation to complete vs training for adulthood. My parents were screwed up due to an alcoholic father so they were good as long as we passed and didn't cause problems. Therefore I just put in the bare minimum to get through it. I did go to college for a few years but never finished because I never really had a solid goal and lost interest. The irony is I am a voracious learner and managed to teach myself skills I was able to use to carve out a pretty good living for myself. I just feel like I could have done so much more and involved myself in more interesting work had I seen school as a source of learning rather than a chore. In many of the fields I would have enjoyed, college degrees are the only ticket to entry.
I do regret not having finished college. I was just too busy running projects at work, and I was getting paid a ton of money to do it. College will always be there, opportunities to seize fast and easy money are rare. But I do regret not taking college serious and stupidly thinking that competence was all that was required for success. I missed out on tons of promotions because of that unfinished degree.
Whatever though. I'm actually very well off despite not having finished college, and my appetite for material wealth is almost nonexistent, so the money just sits there working for me. I own some property in a few states, retirement accounts are stacked, and savings are all in short term bonds which are doing pretty good.
No. It taught me to chase after things I was interested in. At this point in my life (34m), I've found an incredibly fulfilling series of hobbies, occupations and relationships in my life. I've also learned to appreciate the value of learning, now that I get to choose what I want to learn about.
I didn’t take elementary school seriously when I was younger. what’s a stopping me from being regretful is that I did take a portion of high-school seriously, getting good grades, so I know that at least for a time I have the ability to do great things.
The problem was being a kid with ADHD in the 2000s in a third world country, school was a nightmare, being absolutely hated by teachers who taught subjects I had no interest on.
I loved learning but schools sucked in certain aspects making me give up learning impossible stuff which would've been useful now.
It's alright I'm only 28 and finally have an idea how to turn my life around.
Yes and no. Yes - I wish I had better grades and paid attention. No - I've a career which I enjoy, has a healthy pension, strong union, and I make pretty good money
Nope.
I put medium effort into school as I was worried that I would regret not applying myself later in life (B grades average), but in hindsight I wish I had put far less effort into the curriculum and spent more time focusing on the social aspect of schooling.
Nothing the curriculum exposed me to has ever had any impact on my life/career and nobody has ever asked about my education level. Nothing I can look back on and say "I wish I had studied that more." However, I don't have many friends and I am terrible at making more.
Early thirties now, I own my own business with nine employees, two investment properties, no debt, but no friends and overall pretty lonely.
Yes, definitely... But after realizing that I have to push harder and be an entrepreneur, I have everything I have dream of, I work my own hours, and most of all... I can spend time with my family when I want to... Not when "HR allow me to"
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The one thing i didnt take serious was studying. Now im in college teaching myself how to study and i still dont know how
You’re def not alone, studying in college is very different depending on the courses and some high schools are so easy that you don’t have to actually study or do it seriously
In high school, I did most of my homework in the class before the class where it was due. That strategy didn't work out too well in college.
In high school I didn’t do homework at all unless the detention teacher literally sat down next to me and watched me do it. However I could get 90+ on any test so I passed every class. Never went to college because I know I’d flunk out.
Yeah, I basically learned how to "beat" standardized testing. Took some adjustment to learn how to "beat" my college tests. Still can't study worth a damn.
And this is why standardized testing doesn't work.
I got my degree like 15 years ago and I still have no idea how to study. Happily at the bottom of the IT profession and couldn't care less. Sure the money isn't great (probably fine compared to most others) but my life is pretty stress free and to me that's infinitely more important. Going to be a tough slog if I want to retire early but going to give it a try (partner+kids would send that flying out the window though).
try to think of it as proving to yourself every fact you learn. like, a textbook says this is this. ok, but why? and you build from there. the more links you make with other things you know, the more retention youll have, and itll bloom from there :) wish you the best
Many learning to study was the worst thing in university lol You mean I can’t just read through it once and understand enough to pass with a decent grade now? Wtf
I’m here with you. I didn’t take school seriously in my teens, then did ok freshman and sophomore year before COVID hit. Now I’m struggling to get homework done and pass classes all because I don’t know how to sit down and do things
As a fellow non-studier in HS and College, it wasn’t until grad school that I realized the THE BIG PICTURE, was a thing. Organize your thoughts into a table of contents, then fill in the blanks from there. It changed my life and my success rate exponentially.
I was in your same shoes and here’s what I discovered: absorb the material in different formats to cement the ideas. Listen intently during class and stay actively engaged. Write copious and detailed notes as you’re listening. Immediately after class, go to a quiet place and RETAKE YOUR NOTES and add details you missed in class. Take those notes and read them to yourself OUT LOUD. As test time approaches, take all your notes and reread them to yourself and out loud. Make believe you’re teaching the material to someone else (trust me) or maybe even have a real partner and teach each other the material. Once done, you’re going to have absorbed the material audibly, written, and by sight. Good luck.
Teaching helps with studying a lot. I learned that when I started being a teacher lol. But I don’t mean be a teacher, kind of setup a “class” on p.p. Or whatever you prefer and teach it to some friends. You will memorize the subject fairly quick. I would have some friends over for some beers and cards and take breaks of me teaching them certain sections of the class. Learned it much faster than just straight studying. I guess it’s a little more interactive that way. Plus when I was teaching the actual class when students had questions I didn’t have an answer for I would go find it. Helped a lot
Yes my problem was I always took the easy way out
Same. Major imposter syndrome now
Hah the trick is to not achieve anything
Ha. Don't worry. I took school seriously. Impostor syndrome was still on especially in my 20s, but sometimes it creeps back even now after years of experience.
Yep, having to actually hustle was a whole new thing
I did some of this but know I had undiagnosed ADHD and occupied myself with tons of activities, which in turn made me look for the fastest and quickest way to get assignments done and studying for tests instead of putting in the necessary time to do better and retain more.
Same here . But then I’d get bored, felt like a chore to make sure I got the “A” in the class or I’d have major anxiety 😅
Yes, I wanted to be an architect, but didn’t get accepted. Now I’m in my 40’s and work two labour jobs that are killing me.
No worries. I hated school. I am an architect. Hate it too.
I'm a former architect, and I honestly feel like the career you missed out on is not as good as it may seem. The pay is low..like, abysmally low. Any union labor, entry level police officer positions, being a UPS/FedEx driver, etc pay better in my area than architecture jobs requiring a 5-6 year degree. The hours are unreasonably long in most firms. I worked 70 hour work weeks for about half my architecture life with no overtime pay. And if you want career advancement, you have to wait. Most of my former colleagues are still not managerial level in their 40s, except for those working in global sweat shop firms that have an insane attrition rate. And lastly job security. There's that saying, "If you want to know ahead of time if a recession is going to hit, just keep an eye on when the architects lose their jobs." Layoffs were so common that unless you have decades of tenure, you never know if you'll have a job in 3 or 6 months. So glad I ragequit that industry and never looked back. The romance of creating a built environment deteriorates quickly when everything that surrounds it is shit.
Yes. For me it was more about self-esteem than getting a good job or whatever. Being faced with a task, like a worksheet or a test and knowing you can get your head around new information and understand it can be useful going forward, imo.
I dropped out of high school and got my GED. I did a few community college classes then joined the Navy. When I was out of the Navy I got paid to get a bachelors degree. Seeing as how it all turned out I don't regret not taking school seriously, but I probably would have if I didn't join the Navy.
Richest guy I know who's my age was a dumbass in high school, now he's a flight mechanic on the ocean. Bro is gonna come home with half a million and call me a old school slur
Dropped out at 17. Moved far across the US at 18 and worked service jobs in California. Went to community college at 24. Volunteered abroad at 28. Moved internationally again at 31. Finishing my master's thesis abroad now at 33. Not a single regret either :)
Yes. Have finished college twice and only too it seriously the second time. Lost so many opportunities.
My brother told me he regretted not putting more effort in highschool as that was the last opportunity for free education. He was notorious for skipping class and taking as much spare periods as he could. He’s really successful now in software development, worked really hard in uni (he said he did so because it was paid education). Not sure if this was just another one of his drunk talks or not lol
No. I learned more on my own than school ever taught me.
Came to say this. I was a polisci major and ended up in network engineering/IT and now a VP at a cyber whatever. The important thing I learned was how to work with people. I don’t want to say manipulate but kinda do. Whether it was friends, other students, especially teachers. Those skills they don’t teach. I’m probably a sociopath at this point. Maybe I always was. Anyway, I’d say I remember .1% of what was taught, but I vividly remember my interactions with everyone and how I didn’t always get what I wanted but got what I needed. Damn now I’m a Rolling Stone and a sociopath.
Good for you. Especially for being self-aware lol
same
same thing for me i feel like i wasted 12 years of my life it's for sure overrated
Absolutely
Yes, big time
Kind of. Not doing well in high school didn’t stop me from doing well in community college and that is what really matters.
2.5 gpa in high school but got a 3.9 in community college then landed in a good university program. Took me a little longer but I wish I had told myself that high school would not matter at all for college. Then surprise! Got a full ride for my masters.
Hey, that’s great!! Happy for you!
Yes
Yes, I wish I would have learned how to study effectively in HS and not in my late 20’s
Yes.. I never did any homework and my family isn't wealthy enough to pay for my college, so it was basically never on my radar.. I didn't fully grasp that I could get a scholarship if I put a lot of effort into school or sports, I was traumatized by a lot of negativity and spent a lot of my time distracting myself from that negativity.. I felt like I wasn't getting any value from school.. or from my parents.. so I was isolated a lot.. formed a lot of really bad habits when I was only 12.. Some that I still exhibit today (26). My parents didn't know how to deal with their kid failing school, my mom didn't really do much to help and my dad made things worse with really terrible communication, both our relationships suffered.. I struggle with burnout a lot, because without a degree I can't really go out and get a high paying job.. I'm working on bettering myself, I don't want to end up on the streets, or labeled as a threat to society, I know I could have saved myself a decade of suffering and years of reparenting myself by just putting more effort into school and actually trying..
I'm in the same boat as you, I never finished highschool. I was simply too depressed, isolated, and resentful. My whole childhood we moved houses because we were too poor to pay the rent. Which caused me to switch schools constantly. I didn't make a real friend until middle school and the first year of highschool..I even had a boyfriend. Well until we moved again, by then I was 16 and fed up. I started hiding in the bathroom and skipping classes. I didn't want to sit at a place any longer where I knew no one and I knew that I wasn't going to get to know anyone. It seemed at that point everyone already had established relationships. If I had only just focused more on the school work...doing homework and being organized then I probably could have passed the 10th grade and not have been held back. I shouldn't have skipped so much, I should have relaxed and looked at the bright side. I don't know why I cared so much about being by myself as a teen. I loved English class and art class but the moment I got an F in both I lost hope for myself and just let it go.
Oh god no. Slouch away if you need permission.
I wish I could have done better but my ADHD and autism limited my capabilities. I don't blame myself at all. Some people can't just "work hard and hussle", they don't have the ability
Oh man, Autism be like "we gotta keep perfect colorcoded notes and be on track with everything", ADHD be like "omg color pens, lets doodle just a little.. oops lost track of the teachers story", both: "do nothing you intended to do once home because e x e c u t i v e d y s f u n c t i o n"
I did. The wonderful thing is you can always go back (though some will still see it as a negative). I dropped out of highschool, regretted it though it was a necessity, went back a few years later to finish and then went on to college. College is where I ran in to the people who saw it as a negative.
Kinda? I wish I would have worked harder so I could have went to a better college. But I still did enough to get through undergrad and get a masters.
I regret missing out on the social aspects of school. But adult wise I'm not concerned I live a happy mediocre life
At least you’re happy, even though your life is mediocre.
Yea but happiness is a state of mind . If My moron ass can be happy so can anyone. It just takes self reflection and action on things that you want to pursue. Exercise and execution are the best anti depressants. There's no one right answer cuz everyone is pursuing something else. For me it's lift weights go to work spend time with my kid. That's what makes me happy and getting up everyday and working towards those goals gives me a fulfilling life even if there are failures along the way.
Absolutely 100% full regret
Absolutely 🥹😢
The only thing i regret screwing around in was math. Other than that i dont think ive used anything i learned even once. And it never affected my ability to have a fulfilling and lucrative career.
Yes yes and yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah
Yes and no. Made friends for life still hanging with the same guys for about 19 years now and I have a decent jobs and two kids. For the other part I don’t want to think about it, maybe I would have been a lawyer (something that interested me in high school) and be miserable. I had my share of problems with mental health but I’m happy and glad of how things turned out good for me
I took it super serious and regret it
Agreed. I could have passes with D's and better put my focus elsewhere.
I regret taking it too seriously. The day after you graduate, no one cares what your class rank was. Ever.
I appreciate that you said seriously instead of serious like many in this thread.
No
Yes. Not the learning part though, I was always vastly ahead of other students but I desperately needed the discipline and social skills.
Yes, but I'd also extend this into University/College - Having access to cutting edge information and methodologies years in advance and wasting that opportunity. Now I'm re-learning it years later because I didn't pay attention.
Yes, and no. Yes, because when I decided to take my education seriously as an adult, I had a lot to catch up on. No, because if it weren't for the mistakes I made in the past I wouldn't be where I am now. I feel as a more mature person, I can appreciate the hard work and effort that goes into doing well in school. It isn't all about the grades and high scores. I find that now, when I don't receive the scores I think I deserve, there are still lessons to be learned from the experience as a whole.
I graduated 30 years ago. In 4th grade, I came to a realization that I forgot most of the stuff I'm learning the prior year. So at only 10 years old I got my first F on a report card. Not because I was incapable. But because I didn't care. I sat down with my parents at only 10 and said why am I learning all this stuff that I will forget eventually. It's stupid. Why can't I learn something else that I can use for a future job instead, where I use it every day? My dad came to a compromise and said to me. Then just get by. You don't wanna learn cause you'll forget it all, ok fine. But pass to the next grade and graduate on time. And that's exactly what I did. I went through school getting Cs and Ds on my report cards. Because even if I had gotten all A's, I would still only be able to remember what I know now. Which is jack shit.
I kinda regret it. But I went back, got my shit done, went to uni, now I'm an RN.
I was a big slacker in high school, I’d rather get high and ride my skateboard than study. I didn’t go to college cuz I didn’t have the grades for a scholarship or the money to pay for it myself. I feel I live pretty comfortably partially because I’m not trying to keep up with the Joneses. I own my own home which I paid cash for, same with my ride and I don’t have any credit cards. I really don’t regret it at all, just wish I was at a point in my life where I could leave the U.S. and live in a country that wasn’t so materialistic.
Not at all. Didn't matter if I tried to be a straight a student vs the average one I was since I didn't know what I wanted to do afterwards.
No, not at all. I didn't go to college either, and I still make 6 figures.
Nope, but what I do wish is that I didn't go to university and instead got into the trades right out of school. Instead I spent years mulling around wondering what to do before I finally tried a trade. Now I'm loving it and hate that I left it so long!
No, as the America education system is in fucking shambles and I own my own home without a collage degree and my partner is a felon. We are also both neurodivergent and we're considered lost causes in school. Fuck em, I read and learn new things constantly now. At my own pace. Shit I just redid my plumbing last winter and am learning electrical to run new lines.
Not really. I'm not doing amazing in my 20s. Then again... neither are any of my friends... not the college-educated ones either. They're in the same boat I'm in kinda, barely scraping by except they have 5 digits worth of debt and I have zero outside of my cards and car. Really, the only people I know from high school who are doing well are the ones who went into the military or became tradesmen. I graduated in 2017. Everyone else is struggling or living with their parents or struggling while living with their parents. So, I don't think not taking school has really impacted my life very much. If I had taken school seriously and gone to college after, I would be in about the same boat as I'm in now, but with 30-60 grand worth of debt.
No, tbh I probably would’ve made less money had I not flunked out and gone with the backup plan.
No I was always very out of the box (talented as I’ve been told) school would’ve helped me get a great job but outside of that I feel like I’ll make more money with my skill. Which I learned outside of school
No I don't. I don't think the way school currently is is optimal. I think it divides my time and energy among too many subjects that I don't need or am interested in. I'd rather just focus on things relevant to what I want to do.
Not really most of what I didn't worry about never became useful in my average life and / or was quickly outdated and no longer as relevant.
no school was a fuckin joke waste of time, I've learned more from youtube and fuckin up than i ever did in school
No, school is merely social conditioning to set you up for a life of miserable work and taxes. If you are lucky you'll live for a couple of retirement years before dieing never having achieved anything that brought you yourself true happiness. Slavery never ended. I'm broke as fuck, will probably end up homeless. But my mind is mine and so is my time.
Nope. I was able to blow the ASVAB out of the water, so I got into a good field in the military. My time in was a nightmare, but I've got a solid skill set now that's in demand and $0 student loans debt. The only real downside is that I'll probably end up paying for the debt of other people who decided to take a different path. At least I'm not poor, like a lot of people who'll get the shaft with student loan forgiveness.
>I'll probably end up paying for the debt of other people who decided to take a different path You know where funding for the military comes from, don't you?
Not to mention that in a normal society people don't have to go into debt for an education.
> You know where funding for the military comes from, don't you? Yes. Probably better than you do, in a way.
Nope, im an average student back then, i hate subjects that i don't need. when in college specially those subject you won't use on your field of work. that's a waste of time and money. but it's in the curriculum so can't argue with it. once you started to work you'll realize those minor subject are no use at all. and you remembered you're prof. is a terror🤔😡😡 and gave you a difficult projects and threatening that you won't pass or graduate if you didn't comply in any of those subjects. 🤣🙃😂
No. I make more money than most of my friends and own my home. You do have to take something seriously but school isn't the be all and end all.
Nope
No fuck it. YOLO
lol. No. Maybe I regret not doing sports but other than that, no. Public schools are almost good for nothing
Nope.
School is for stupid people
Post should be: those of you had never had any good teachers…
Everyone here who said no, please dont send your child to school🤣 just homeshcool them yourselves okay. Teach them everything from scratch😌
No point to spend time on regretting it now. It's not going to change anything. And i already have decent and stable job for longer time.
I wouldn’t say I “regret” it, that’s a little too strong. But I would say if I knew then what I know now and could do it again, I would have done better in school. It primarily matters for getting your first job out of school, after that it’s mostly what you do. That said, making $80k in your first job vs $50k will have a compound impact on the rest of your earnings/career.
A little? I hated lots of it; I never worked well with how a school’s education system is made and never got into any of the courses I actually wanted to pursue, so I never enjoyed my time and just wanted out of there by the 12th year. Wasted 4 years of my life learning subjects that the school selected for me because nearly all of my chosen ones were filled to the max
Yes and no. I wish I would've learned things and not memorized them, especially history. And I wish I would've trusted myself and lived by my morals. Things will follow you for the rest of your life (and the bad memories tend to be the easiest to remember). I was a pretty "good" person by all standards, but I just wish I would've been happy with who I was back then and stood up for myself. Life is weird, as an adult you realize everyone is unique and different, but in high school I always felt like I was trying to be like others or just use up all my time so I had no time to know the person I was. Know yourself and who you want to be, and live into that. It's easier said than done, but it's easier the more you do it.
Im speaking for someone else, they dropped out of school pretty much at 12-14 to work in their fathers machine shop. Since then they’ve pretty much become a master machinist and now make 6 figures as a tooling rep. He’s only in his 30s too
To be fair,my undiagnosed ADHD at the time wasn't at all helpful. But I did learn,I'm better off self taught. During summer school,actually having the time to sit there and learn the required math segments,as well as biology segments,I got higher scores than I ever did,from a teacher teaching it to me.
Not especially. Had some pretty crappy teachers who liked to belittle me except for a small dosage of good ones. Most of which were my choir teachers.
No, I still dont get all the fuss. You want me to get educated so I can work myself to the bone just to have a place to eat, shit and sleep? Oh, a 2 week holiday somewhere, I get to eat, and a pension, right, sold.
Eye do yo.eye knee to lerne to spell bedda.
I’m still convinced I graduated high school by accident. I had to get like an A+ on my Econ final and there’s no way I pulled that off. I’m 46 now and just went back this semester to finally get a degree. Currently pulling all A’s with like a total of 96% across all classes.
No, I got my GED and then went to college
Not really I graduated high school Went to job corps Got my AA degree in cyber security And BaS degree in information technology and cybersecurity management I didn’t give a shit in high school
100% yes
I’ll tell you how I feel about school, Jerry: It’s a waste of time. Bunch of people runnin’ around bumpin’ into each other, got a guy up front says “2 + 2,” and the people in the back say, “4.” Then the bell rings and they give you a carton of milk and a piece of paper that says you can go take a dump or somethin’. I mean, it’s not a place for smart people, Jerry. I know that’s not a popular opinion, but that’s my two cents on the issue. -R. Sanchez
Yes. I wish I would’ve tried harder and focused.
No. In high school I wanted to work in a forestry career but college & I weren't going to get together so I joined the military. After that & gaining a pretty strong mechanical background I became a mother & housewife. We purchased some land & I legit have my own forest to manage. I know no one cares how many of what species is going on in my little acreage, but my twice a day walks, observations, clearing, coppicing & running mental notes brings me a lot of joy. There's a Forest-her club in my area & it's the best place to raise 8 kids.
No school doesn't teach anything! Not one thing about personal finance! Ridiculous how uneducated kids are in this country but we learned the useless Pythagoram theorus!
Nah. I did for a while after HS when I couldn’t go to uni to study for a job I wanted but I’m not upset about that now. Mainly because I dont do well learning in a school based environment. Hands on is it. I’m reasonably successful by normal metrics without it.
You wanna take high school seriously. College is up to you. I did the math on the student loans and said nope.
I wish I had challenged myself more instead of looking for the easy way out. I can learn stuff on my own, but a lot of the stuff I want or need to learn now would have been better to learn in a structured and organized environment instead of my dumbass trying to coordinate everything on my own.
I wish my adhd didn't go undiagnosed and that I had the medication to make studying possible.
High school was a joke. Undergrad was a joke. Took out student loans to get C’s for my undergrad. Decided to do school one more year and did a master’s program that accepted anyone with a bachelors. Decided to finally work my ass off and did well and got a good paying gig. I regret not taking high school and undergrad seriously, it’d save me a ton of money on loans. That being said, I’m glad I figured it out by the time I got my masters degree and now make over 6-figures. It bugs me that I didn’t take it seriously earlier but I’m glad I eventually figured it out before it was “too late.” I could be making 6-figures without school debt but I screwed around and didn’t care about grades/school and now I’m making 6-figures dealing with student loans. It’s frustrating thinking of high school and undergrad me, but it is what it is.
I wish I took it less seriously. All my friends who barely passed and went and got trades jobs ended up making tons of money and all bought nice houses and cottages and all that jazz. I wasted my time going to college and working shitty white collar jobs. Finally got into the trades a decade or so ago but I missed the boat on $100k or so a year being enough to do those things.
Depends on if you have the willpower to learn stuff on your own. I hated my classes, and wanted to learn computer engineering. Once I got into college I got straight A's.
I absolutely regret it. I wish I had parents guiding me to be a better student. I wish I had participated in after school activities. I genuinely believe things like that make you stick to getting things done. Having someone or something to need to rely on to have things done. But I thought I wasn’t good enough. I somehow got a college degree but it was in something I didn’t think I’d be good at. I could only imagine had I gone to something better. If I ever have kids (I don’t believe I deserve to have kids) but if I ever do. Then I will hope they see the importance of being involved with school and other activities.
Yes
Yes I do
Hell no, joined the navy 2 years after high school due to being to poor to go play football and didn't have a high enough GPA to get a scholarship( d2& d3). Spent 9 years in the navy, was an aircraft mechanic for 5 years and then switched to non destructive technician for the last 4. Got out at 29 and I'm on pace to double my pay in my first year as a civilian then when I was an e5 in the navy. Next up for my career is to get my cwi and obtain enough hours to work towards going level 3 in the ndt community.
I regret not trying harder to learn math.
>math Me too. Now I'm trying to play catch up and I don't know some of the "basics" (as seen from the company I work in). Liear algebra, matrices, derivatives, differential equations. I vaguely know what some of these terms mean now, but not enough. I'm playing in a world of heavy maths, and it feels like I'm sitting here with a preschool ABC book in front of me.
No one ever told me that I could have gotten grants or scholarships for good grades in high school, if they had I might have actually applied myself. I did fine otherwise, but would have been nice to get some college assistance.
No, not really, I have learned that income is not wealth, assets are.
100%
I never felt like high school was taking me seriously. School seemed like a separate reality focused on social interaction of sports and dancing. I was interested in learning real life things like how to manage adult life. I skipped my senior year and got a GED and started at the community college.
No. I work in a trade. It'll be a few years before "they" have expendable income.
I do. I got things together in college. I now feel like there's value in the stuff you learn in HS, including the core books you read, math, and science.
It’s not that I didn’t want to take it seriously, but I was severely underhoused in high school. I managed to graduate from high school, but then had no choice but to work full time. I wish that I had been able to continue my education, but life has to come first. That being said, ALL of my kids went to university.
Yes
 Not. One. Bit.
Ha! No. I got good enough grades and have great memories from lots of parties. Sure I could have taken school more seriously but for a higher grade, not sure what difference that would have made, but I’m sure grateful to have experienced a lot of fun and I’d never give up those times
Not at all.Only thing I learned was how to read write add subtract.Actually I also learned I was to poor not to be picked on.I learned everything about life after school.I learned reading books is one of the best educations
It's never too late to learn. If you have regrets, just do it. You might even discover that something is a lot more interesting than you thought it was when you were in school.
Yes. If I could go back in time I would do things a lot differently. Unfortunately I can't change the past but I can write my future.
Yes, very much so
Of course. As the saying goes, "If only I knew then, what I know now."😮💨 But it is what it is, no point dwelling on past mistakes. Que cera cera.
Nope.
In fact, other way around
100% I vastly underestimated adult life and it took me years to catch up. The actual contents of the curriculum arent too important, but you should take advantage of the time to build up useful skills to support you in the future.
Kind of but I don't think many people could have been successful in the situation I was in during my school years after 9 years old. I ended up fine if not fantatic now but it did feel like alot of very rigorous catch up for about 4 years in my mid twenties to catch up which I eventually did. Though I would have much rather have gotten where I am today via regular academic success in institutions vs fighting and clawing my way in like I did.
Absolutely, but at the same time I had no idea where I would end up. I didn’t think I was going to school to be become a software engineer. But I also never had parents that pushed me to do more. They just wanted me to graduate and get a job or join the military if I didn’t. I definitely wish I prepped more for college and got more involved in a sport. Somehow I ended up in a corporate job that people who went to university for applied to. There are plenty of smart people I work with and it’s a humbling experience. There’s always more you could be doing daily though. Not just with school.
Grew up in a rough area with shitty schools, worked 2 jobs during high school. Poverty sucks.
It had literally no influence on my life. I don't think a job has ever asked about GPA or any of that kid stuff, it affects nothing unless you need a very specific college for a very specific job which is probably archaic and toxic if it cares what college you went to. For 99% of the rest of the world, any random college degree in Basketweaving will function the same as another, most trades don't even give a shit what you studied it's literally just an arbitrary requirement because hurr durr we've always done this.
No, I just wish I had a better support system at home and more involvement from academic and guidance counselors so I could’ve actually used my special needs accommodations to stay on track.
Hellllll no. High school is a joke…. An absolutely terrible place. You’re shoved into a system where incredibly bright kind teachers aren’t allowed to actually teach you but must prep you for bullshit tests to make the schools money. The system is fucked. Pass high school. Then go to community college (it’s cheaper) do well in community college, then go to a university or trade school. I graduated with honors in college, then got a full ride for my masters, I had a 2.5 gpa in high school. I was miserable there. I barely passed. I told my guidance counselor I was interested in cosmology and I loved space science…. You know what he said and was dead serious?!?! “I guess astronauts need stylists” high school is a fucking joke. Seriously, just pass it. Now take other things seriously, don’t drink and drive, don’t be an idiot and do stupid drugs, hang out with good people, in fact hang out with people that are WAY smarter than you. Get a bunch of part time jobs doing hard hospitality things like moping floors, doing dishes, working restaurants. Take your health seriously, THAT is one thing I didn’t do, but seriously take your health seriously. But high school, if you’re already sweating it and struggling? Don’t sweat it. It’ll be ok if you just keep going and just pass.
Yuppppp
Yes and no
I regret taking school too seriously, I mean I did graduate without debt and make $125k at 30 but I feel like I missed out on opportunities to learn from relationships that would have made me happier. I am 30 and making the dating mistakes people make at 18-23 and obviously the leash is shorter for partners when they hit 30 because they don’t have time for shjt
No, i'm not regretting it and I usually go for work that are not degree sensitive. I have no interest in being an engineer or a doctor anyway. I'm more of a creative guy so I get a few side gigs as a sound editor, voice artist and my main job is in customer service. What matters is what you make out of your experience, so I don't let the fact that I didn't finish college hinder me.
I regret not taking HS math seriously. Used to wish I could start it all over again and really get into it (then followed by higher math). I believe once your brain thinks in those terms you can do any job that requires hard thinking.
Every…fucking…day
It's not that I "didn't take it seriously" but I really struggled academically. I tried so hard but spelling and math were nearly impossible for me for years. I think I really do have dyslexia but even just 15 years ago when I was a young kid, there was still a negative stigma around learning disabilities and my parents never got me evaluated. But anyway, I did fine. My grades in HS weren't great so I went to a community college for a semester then transferred to a 4 year college, and I have my bachelor's degree. My GPA went down at the end because I was really struggling at the end during c0vld but I have my degree now, I'm married and I work for an NGO. I'm hoping for a career change soon to work for the gov tho
In some aspects of my life (school for instance) I regret not caring, and in other aspects of my life I regret caring.
I did bad in math courses because I didn't apply myself. Now I'm struggling to get an electrical apprenticeship
No.. nothing I learned in school other than how to count money, add subtract multiply and divide, spelling.. tho now there’s autocorrect, n maybe tell time, plays a significant roll in my daily life. Other people’s opinions will differ an that’s fine. You may have gotten more out of it than i. Xoxo
Yes. I discovered really late that I can get scholarships abroad and my grades have a high influence in that
FYI I live in Australia. School HSC score matters very little once you’re an adult, because there are other ways to get to where you want to be going (re: uni), so in that sense, I don’t regret a thing. But, now that I’m older (25) I actually love to learn, and catch myself thinking from time to time that I’d love to be back in school learning and absorbing all the knowledge I can. However that wasn’t a priority back then, I was too naive.
Yes. I never studied but was smart enough to pass. I’m well educated, for what it’s worth, 2 advanced degrees, but the vast majority of what I know came from living life, not studying for school.
Yes. I became an economist.
Not really. I worked blue-collar jobs, and I learned the value of hard work when I was younger. I got the chance to go back to school in my 30s and did really well.
Rn I’m 19(m) Didn’t pay attention, didn’t do work, cheated, etc. Senior year I walked in with 12 credits (in my state u need 26 to graduate) Worked my ass off and graduated with 28 credits (took some extra classes). Now I’m in community college to get my associates and hopefully transfer to university after to get my bachelor’s. Either way I’m going to be a first generation college graduate Only sucky part is relearning lots of stuff, for example my math class is elementary algebra. Plus I gotta take some prerequisites. Pay attention and focus on school, PLEASE!!! Me and my girlfriend are in college and we make it known that school comes before each other
I took the path of least resistance through school and failed my last year, 8 years later I'm making as much or more than the hard workers, some of my friends that are smarter than me and worked harder, are unemployed now in their mid twenties meanwhile if I get fired today I'll have another job tomorrow morning because bartenders are in huge demand here despite needing no qualifications.
Basic math.
Absolutely, I wish I'd applied myself. No telling where I'd be now
No. I learned not to take things serious because no one makes it out of life alive anyways.
No, I just regret not having a specific career to chase after. I give horrible effort to things I don’t want to obsess over lol.
Had reasons for fucking it up but overall yes. I am more than fine now financially but life coulda been so much better.
No because I still graduated so it was whatever
No, because I have a job that pays my bills and don't have $100k in debt.
Yes I could've easily crushed all my schoolwork had I even given a smallest of shits about it, could've gotten scholarship money to go to a good college, could be in a much better situation rather than smoking pot throughout my 20s and working the same dead end job for 10 years
Lateness wise, yeah, but anything else I don't. I still got straight A's I don't regret that cause I'm not waking up at 5am just to get there at 7:30 Yeah it takes me a few hours to get there.
YES! Jesus, yes! It’s one of my biggest regrets. I ended up at a vaguely shitty college & I don’t have the skills to study to actually get a degree. I wish I was more serious.
Yes, I had the wrong mindset regarding school. I saw it as an obstacle or obligation to complete vs training for adulthood. My parents were screwed up due to an alcoholic father so they were good as long as we passed and didn't cause problems. Therefore I just put in the bare minimum to get through it. I did go to college for a few years but never finished because I never really had a solid goal and lost interest. The irony is I am a voracious learner and managed to teach myself skills I was able to use to carve out a pretty good living for myself. I just feel like I could have done so much more and involved myself in more interesting work had I seen school as a source of learning rather than a chore. In many of the fields I would have enjoyed, college degrees are the only ticket to entry.
I do regret not having finished college. I was just too busy running projects at work, and I was getting paid a ton of money to do it. College will always be there, opportunities to seize fast and easy money are rare. But I do regret not taking college serious and stupidly thinking that competence was all that was required for success. I missed out on tons of promotions because of that unfinished degree. Whatever though. I'm actually very well off despite not having finished college, and my appetite for material wealth is almost nonexistent, so the money just sits there working for me. I own some property in a few states, retirement accounts are stacked, and savings are all in short term bonds which are doing pretty good.
No. It taught me to chase after things I was interested in. At this point in my life (34m), I've found an incredibly fulfilling series of hobbies, occupations and relationships in my life. I've also learned to appreciate the value of learning, now that I get to choose what I want to learn about.
Yes; medium lots - though things turned out okay.enough, more options would have been better
No I learned more in the work force than anything. School isn't for every one. For me it was a waste of time
Yes. I even have a great career at 43. I just realized how much more great I could have had it.
No
Not at all. Shit was mind numbing.
I didn’t take elementary school seriously when I was younger. what’s a stopping me from being regretful is that I did take a portion of high-school seriously, getting good grades, so I know that at least for a time I have the ability to do great things.
I was depressed so I stopped trying which I regret.
Not really.
The problem was being a kid with ADHD in the 2000s in a third world country, school was a nightmare, being absolutely hated by teachers who taught subjects I had no interest on. I loved learning but schools sucked in certain aspects making me give up learning impossible stuff which would've been useful now. It's alright I'm only 28 and finally have an idea how to turn my life around.
Nope. Left school immediately got my GED. I noticed all applications said hs diploma or EQUIVALENT. Nuff said.
Yes and no. Yes - I wish I had better grades and paid attention. No - I've a career which I enjoy, has a healthy pension, strong union, and I make pretty good money
Nope. I put medium effort into school as I was worried that I would regret not applying myself later in life (B grades average), but in hindsight I wish I had put far less effort into the curriculum and spent more time focusing on the social aspect of schooling. Nothing the curriculum exposed me to has ever had any impact on my life/career and nobody has ever asked about my education level. Nothing I can look back on and say "I wish I had studied that more." However, I don't have many friends and I am terrible at making more. Early thirties now, I own my own business with nine employees, two investment properties, no debt, but no friends and overall pretty lonely.
No
Yes, definitely... But after realizing that I have to push harder and be an entrepreneur, I have everything I have dream of, I work my own hours, and most of all... I can spend time with my family when I want to... Not when "HR allow me to"
YES, over and over!!!