Comments | thinkum: What I know now, that I wish I'd known in college.

thinkum

What I know now, that I wish I'd known in college.

Sep 19, 2011 12:24

The first of my nephews has graduated from college into the world, and the next is close behind him, with a third just starting the adventure. I've been contemplating this a lot, of late, and looking back at my own college experience; it's far enough behind me now to be able to view it without nostalgia, if I try. These are the things I wish I'd ( Read more... )

Comments 9

davidschroth September 19 2011, 19:35:29 UTC

Thank you. This is really good.

Personally, I don't think it's so much what I wish I'd known then, as much as it is I wish there had been different turns in my life.

Living in France from 1962 to 1965 was a much more precious experience than I realized at the time; attending high school in South Carolina was a much more damaging experience than I realized at the time.

thinkum September 20 2011, 12:39:27 UTC

Glad you liked it -- it was interesting for me to think about as I was writing it.

I'm envious of everyone who gets a chance to live in a foreign country -- that's such a valuable experience to have.

Was it high school in general, or something specific to South Carolina? You've piqued my curiosity...

cakmpls September 19 2011, 21:04:44 UTC

I can't think of anything I wish I had known at that stage of life. Anything that had been changed would have altered where I am now; while there may be alternative life paths that would have been just as good, there are probably many more that would have been less good. My political and social views are very little changed in the 40+ years since then.

I do with that in my mid-30s J and I had known some things about our financial future that were not predictable at the time; we would have made some different choices.

thinkum September 20 2011, 12:55:16 UTC

I wasn't really thinking of this piece as an "If only..." essay. While I am curious about some paths not followed, my cumulative experiences have made me who I am today, and I'm pretty happy with who I am, warts and all.

I was really motivated to write it more as an indirect piece of advice to the collegiate nieces and neffers. I hope they can learn from my mistakes, so that the mistakes they do make will be uniquely their own. :-)

cakmpls September 20 2011, 21:03:48 UTC

I answered, and LJ ate my comment. It wasn't important enough to rewrite. Sigh.

You've got... internetgeek September 20 2011, 02:47:41 UTC

...the wheels turning now. I'll pop back with a proper response when they come to a rest. *grin*

Re: You've got... thinkum September 20 2011, 12:56:51 UTC

I'll hold you to that! *wbeg*

Re: You've got... internetgeek September 26 2011, 17:33:13 UTC

I'm back... *evil grin ( ... )

Re: You've got... thinkum September 26 2011, 18:40:41 UTC

And an Excellent comment in reply! That was lovely -- thank you!