Hey Pandas, What's One Thing You Didn't Do And Regret Not Doing?

Staying put in first house. Moving cost us. First house, with big section worth a fortune now...or could have built on it again for family.

My father left when I was 6 and never looked back, my mother was completely emotionally detached, and it really had a bad effect on me.
I was brutal to my kid brother for years. As a result he suffered from extremely low self-esteem and drank himself to death at the age of 35. My treatment of him was a major contributing factor. I can never forgive myself for not being the big brother he wanted and deserved.

I regret not going to Egypt with a friend of mine when he invited me to go for 3 months. He was Catholic and I wasn't. I was ~19 y.o. and I thought I would get kidnapped (eye roll). I should have gone. The man always treated me with respect even with 15 years between us.

I regret getting married instead of staying the last two months in college to finish my degree. I finished it later after my divorce but it was hard going back. Then went to have a few certificates and a bachelor degree because my 2nd husband encouraged me.

I regret letting my own family gaslighting me, abuse me physically and mentally and not telling anyone. I should have spoken up and get help. I'm still dealing with PTSD after 50 years.

When I was 19 (I am now 68) I had a chance to go to Japan with a plane full of a Japanese family that was going home to visit. It would have only cost me $600 for 3 weeks with room and board and airfare. Staying with the family and being shown the sights. THAT was the biggest mistake of my life. I had a cruddy job that was worth quitting and had plenty of money saved, too.

I wish I had joined the Wrens (Women's Royal Navy), but in those days I didn't have the confidence, and they didn't go to sea. Now it's all under the Royal Navy and women serve on board. I don't have many regrets, but that's one of the biggest.

Not applying for more scholarships. I get free tuition for any college in Massachusetts, but I'm gonna need a little more of a "boost" than that. I'm still gonna have a LOT of debt afterwards.

Getting my PhD. I have two Masters, and was accepted into a Doctoral program. Then I chickened out.

I didn't do the dishes right after dinner on June 17, 1978. It was my turn, and I figured I had plenty of time to do them, so I let them sit in the sink. I was 16, and had just finished my junior year in high school. Not much later, a friend came over, and he and my older brother decided to go out. Since I hadn't done the dishes, I couldn't go with them. That night, they were kidnapped at gunpoint and beaten. Our friend died of his injuries, and my brother was traumatized for the rest of his life. Had I been with them, they would not have been kidnapped. Had I washed the dishes right after dinner, I would have been with them.

This is so small compared to most of the other stories but what the hell...
In my first year at university I was in love with this guy. I mean head over heels, completely on cloud nine when I was with him, the most intense emotion I've ever felt in my life. But I didn't know how he felt and I was scared if I told him he wouldn't feel the same and would leave. I never told him but we split anyway. I still think about him every now and then, nearly 40 years later. I wish I'd just told him.
I think most of my regrets in life are things I didn't do, rather than things I did.

I have regrets for not immediately fulfilling my grandmother's simple request. She asked me to draw his self-portrait because she knew I could draw (I'm not that good). But I always put it off. Until one day, my desire to draw my grandmother finally appeared, I waited for tomorrow to draw because at that time I did not have my drawing tools. Unfortunately ... that night, my grandmother passed away.

This is one of my biggest regrets. Because I'm sure, no matter how bad the result. My grandmother would love it and I couldn't make it happen while she was still with me.

Wish I had paid more attention to my kids problems 😒

I regret not listening to my friend who dated my former roommate before I moved in with him. She knew he was just using me like he had used her. If I had listened to her, it would have saved me a lot of time, energy, money and heartache.

I turned down a full ride scholarship to Temple University to stay with a guy I eventually ended up leaving. He wouldn’t move back east so I stayed out west.

I have a few deeply painful regrets, all about failing loved ones, but I don't want to write about those. Instead I'll tell you about a regret that's more on the "bummer" level: Over 20 years ago, when I was in university, a guy who was the son of a famous singer-songwriter and had reportedly inherited his father's talent heard me singing along to a few songs at a party. We spent the whole night together playing pool and talking, and at some point he told me that he'd written enough songs for a whole album and had been looking for a woman to sing them - and that he wanted me to do it, because he liked my voice. He had his own music studio, so it would be an easy thing to do, and since I knew a good friend of his, who'd vouched for him as a genuine, decent and sweet person, and who knew about the search for a female singer, I was sure it was legit, and that I'd be completely safe if I did it. ... But I said no, because I had a feeling that the guy (who was a very sensitive and romantic person and got sort of starry-eyed when he looked at me) was about to fall in love with me, and I didn't want to lead him on. I applaud my young self for being considerate that way, but still... I've regretted it ever since. It would've been a fun experience, but more importantly: I was in fact a good singer back then (I'd been on my way to becoming an opera singer, but had changed my mind), and because I've since lost much of my voice due to smoking, it would be nice to have a good recording from before the decline.

I did not stay in my home state to go to college. I went out of state to get away from home and because of that I lost the best guy ever! He went on to have a happy life and mine basically repeated what I was trying to escape.

I regret not breaking up with partners when it had run it's course or was not working out. I hung in there, not wanting to hurt the other person's feelings but I was hurt when they eventually broke up with me. I guess it takes maturity and a bit of grit to tell someone 'this isn't working for me'.

I didn't go to my brother's wedding. I only had 3 week's notice, it was overseas and I would've had to put the flights on my credit card and my job contract was ending in a month. I've regretted not going ever since.

Talking to Mayim Bialik. She attended my sister's wedding (she's maybe 2nd cousin to my BIL?) when she was at UCLA. We were close to the same age and I had grown up watching Blossom and feeling represented as a fellow goofy/awkward girl. My sister said that Mayim was shy and she wanted her to be comfortable at the wedding, so she asked us to not speak to her as a celebrity. I ended up next to her in the buffet line and respected my sister's wishes and avoided the urge to gush over her. I just tried to let her enjoy her time off with her family. But I sort of regret it. I wish I could have just thanked her for making me feel "seen" as a kid.