There's nothing more valuable than life experience. You can go through all the schooling you want, but you'll never learn the things you pick up by simply living.
Once you reach your 40s, 50s, and beyond, you have a perspective that younger generations can massively benefit from, so I asked the older members of the BuzzFeed Community to share their regrets from their 20s and 30s, as well as any advice they had for the generations below them.
Here's what they had to say:
1. "I regret getting married young. I wish I had lived life more before tying myself to someone else."
2. "I regret majoring in my hobby (theatre) in college. I wish I would have really thought about a career and started saving as soon as I could, but I didn’t think I deserved it."
"I wish I hadn’t hated myself until my 40th year, but I’m so glad I have about 30 more years to make up for all the time I wasted."
3. "Early 40s here. I regret not having enough casual sex when I was younger. I wish I'd been braver to take the first step and not care that much about the 'perfect partner.'"
4. "I regret that I waited until my 30s to actually talk to a professional about my depression and anxiety, instead of trying to deal with it myself."
—Anonymous
5. "Travel often, even if it’s a roadtrip a few hours from home. The time goes by quicker than we realize."
6. "NEVER EVER base a major decision on a boyfriend or girlfriend!!"
"In my 20s, I was living and working in England (I'm American) in my dream job after securing a difficult to obtain temporary working visa. While living there, I met an American who was on vacation in London and fell head over heels. My place of employment wanted me to renew my visa to a longer visa, but I declined to do so because I wanted to move back to the US to be with 'the man of my dreams,' with his encouragement to do so. Within a week of my return to the US, he dumped me and went back to his old girlfriend. The job was long gone. Huge regret."
—Anonymous
7. "Carefully remove incompatible, annoying, or toxic people from your life."
8. "Don't hide stuff from your doctors. They're there to help, and they've seen worse or know you're lying."
9. "Not realizing that I would get older and want to retire. I should have started putting some money away so I could retire in comfort. A small amount of savings over a long period would have made my later years different. I thought I always had more time to 'take care of it' until I didn't."
10. "I regret smoking/any nicotine use at all. DON’T DO IT!!!"
11. "Thinking any list or trend should define who you are. If you want to wear skinny jeans for the rest of your life, do it. Also, lift weights and use sunscreen every day, not just when it’s sunny."
12. "I'm 62, and the best advice I can give is not to allow high school and college friendship drama get between you and your education. Once you get into your 30s, the importance of those eras fade quickly. Participate socially, of course — proms, clubs, sororities, fraternities, and the like all have a place in your story. Just don't let any of them become the story!"
13. "I regret caring about my weight and shape so much. I looked fine! So silly."
—Anonymous
"Look after your health. It isn't about your weight. It's about getting good nutrition. That will serve you better than being at anybody else's opinion of your weight."
14. "I wish I listened to myself and followed MY dreams instead of following what my parents thought I should do."
15. "I wish I had said 'no' more firmly and more often. I was so passive and went along with what people wanted, even when it wasn't what I wanted."
—Anonymous
16. "Take those chances! You're always finding reasons why you're unable to do something. How about just doing it?"
Thank you to everyone who shared their story!
Note: Some answers have been edited for length and/or clarity.