As someone who's in her 20s, I'll be the first to say it: nobody aged 20-30 knows what they're doing. All of us are pretty much just winging it when it comes to most aspects of life: career, relationships, you name it.
That's why it's important — in general, but especially in our 20s — that we listen to people who are older and wiser. I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of avoiding life-altering mistakes.
So, Reddit user u/Longjumping_Wash_255 recently asked: "If you could go back to your 20s, what would you do differently?" and people had some really interesting answers. Here are some of the top-voted responses:
1. "Might sound cliché, but actually save and invest money instead of spending it all on a bunch of unnecessary things."
"I'd skip the impulse buys and invest in a few good stocks."
2. And on that note, "Skip my gambling phase and focus on a career I care about earlier."
"I'm doing okay, but I lack the employment history to apply for upper level positions."
"I would have started pursuing my actual dream earlier. I’ve always dreamt of being a novelist, but the odds of becoming a paid, published writer are so low that I didn't even bother trying."
–[deleted user]
3. "Stayed single longer."
"No need to be locked down and having your decisions influenced. There is so much life to live, so many experiences to try and so many places to travel."
"There's also the factor of the extra responsibility you have to take on. People settle down too early because they think they've found the 'right woman' when they haven't become the right man yet. You could travel the world, but if you don't know yourself, you're truly lost."
"I wouldn't have focused so much on dating. I realized in my mid-20s that dating wasn’t for me, but I kept wasting time on it. So much stress I could've avoided."
–[deleted user]
4. Along those lines, "Not get married."
"Was married at 20. Not due to any kids or anything else that forced the issue. Just thought I was so in love... made it 17 years before the ex decided she hadn't had those 'wild years' and decided to go have them — and other partners — when she was in her mid-30s.
I should have been out and having a blast and trying to figure out who I was instead of trying to be someone I wasn't."
5. "Care less about people who don't actually matter to you and more about the ones who do."
"So few people mattered to me back then and it’s so cringe thinking about how much I had to pretend to accommodate everyone. I like myself now a lot better."
6. "I wouldn’t be afraid to move on from anything. Jobs, friends, family, relationships, cities. I would do what I wanted 10000%."
7. "Seek professional counseling."
"I honestly think that getting intense therapy in my early 20s before my brain stopped forming is the reason why I was able to get over my depression."
8. "Set boundaries, and stick with them. Don't let other people step on you."
"Speak up and put your foot down when you are getting mistreated."
9. "I'd stop trying to make my parents happy."
"Stop trying to save one parent from the other... what a waste of decades that was."
10. "Read, read, read. Keep good habits."
"Reading and good habits really do go hand in hand."
11. "Learn a trade."
"Plumbing. A journeyman wanted to take me under his wing, but I kept making excuses."
12. "Stay away from alcohol."
"Yep, I would be doing better if I didn't make my 20s about partying and doing drugs, but oh well, it was fun for a while."
13. "I would have said yes to way more opportunities and taken more risks if I'd known that a few months shy of my 30th birthday I'd suddenly become so chronically ill that my entire life as I knew it would end."
"I would have done so much more if I'd only known how my entire world would be limited to the inside of my parents' house (because I can no longer look after myself) and doctor's offices.
Don't ever take your health for granted."
14. "Talk to my 3 living grandparents and ask them tons of questions."
"In my 30s now, no living grandparents, and suddenly I have all these questions about their lives and their parents and the world as they knew it. Wish I could ask them."
15. "Travel more. The world's a lot bigger when you're broke and 40."
17. "Go to the dentist regularly. Every other mistake made me the person I am today... a person with dentures, LOL."
"Started having issues with my teeth late 30s. Things I stupidly ignored until I couldn't anymore."
18. "I'd stress less about the future and take more spontaneous road trips."
19. "Go to more concerts. This is my real regret. The artists I could have seen."
"Also, buy property instead of rent. Which would have given me more money today to go to more concerts."
"I went to as many concerts as I could in my 20s. I'm now at a point where I've seen nearly 1,200 different artists!"
20. "Have as much consensual sex as possible. At 60 those become cherished memories."
"You get to experience the way other people live at such an intimate level. It also boosts your ego like crazy and makes you feel good. Not for everyone though so up to you."
21. And finally: "Probably stay away from college loans."
"This. The single thing holding me back financially are those damn student loans for a degree that has been useless. There's a lot of us in this boat."
