I enjoy reading articles with titles like, “Advice I would have given my younger self.” Often some of the advice has to do with avoiding mistakes or heartaches that happened along the way. Well, I have experience with some of those!
I could have avoided a five-year detour into dietetics if I had the confidence to stay pre-med in college.
I could have skipped over two boyfriends and some awkward and painful moments that resulted.
I could have avoided a year of long-distance dating.
I could have gone straight into Internal Medicine and skipped many painful experiences in clinic + started making an attending salary a year early.
If I know anything from time travel stories, however, it’s that my life would be a lot different if those things hadn’t happened. Would I even be a doctor? Would I have any of the friends I’ve made in the last fifteen years? Would I be married to my husband? Would we have had Lindy? This year I’ve gone on two road trips and attending two weddings that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t become a dietitian and ended up in Yankton, South Dakota. Thank God it was so. Not every instance is so clear, but it’s reassuring to look back at mistakes I’ve made and see how God has used them to bring good things into my life.
Things I DO regret?
- Giving away my apple peeler corer slicer. At the time, the convenience didn’t seem worth the imperfections in the final product. How wrong I was.
- Singing a classical Latin piece for the final show choir concert, instead of a crowd-pleaser. Ah, the hubris of youth.
- Allowing Birdie to keep me company at the table when we were living alone together. She was already a trash panda but if anything this cemented the behavior. Unwatched plates will never be safe.
SDG