"I Don't Even Remember When I Had It Last": Older Adults Are Recalling The Major Things They Didn't Cherish When They Were Younger, And As A Millenial, This Was Important To Hear
As we get older, it's normal to start reminiscing about the old days. So when Reddit user u/Intelligent711 asked: "What do you regret not appreciating more when you were younger?" a lot of people shared their very vulnerable answers. Here's what some of them said below.
1."The simple joys of being carefree — like long summer days and endless playtime!"
2."My spine and knees being pain-free. Just walking the dog hurts these days."
3."My parents' youth. Mom’s 70 now, and it’s incredibly hard to see her slow down."
"This is the toughest for me. Saw my strong dad wither away in his 80s. Damn, it’s hard."
4."How hot I actually was."
"Yeah, I look back at my college pictures, and it’s like… what was I complaining about?! I’d love to get back to looking like that!"
5."Being able to sleep was something I took utterly for granted. I miss those days so much."
"Imagine hitting the bed, deep in sleep right away, and only waking up 8+ hours later! I don't even remember when I had it last time. Sigh."
6."The freedom to do absolutely nothing and not feel guilty about it. Adult responsibilities are a whole different game."
7."Time spent with friends who have since drifted away. We thought we’d always be together, but life had other plans."
"This. I feel grief sometimes at the lost friendships. People who I thought would always be in my life consistently are just gone."
8."Time with my grandparents. I was just so fucked up and couldn’t see how much they loved me, WANTED me around, and protected me. I wish so badly I could tell them both that they changed my life and thank them for everything and how I miss Grandpa playing us trumpet in the morning and at night. I miss the way my grandma's hug felt and her bad cooking and watching Are You Being Served? with them after dinners. I wish I had understood that time isn’t something you can get back, and when they’re gone, there’s just an empty space where they used to sit on the couch. Please don’t waste your time with people who love you, it sounds obvious but it wasn’t to me."
9."How much potential I really did have. I just lacked self-confidence. I'm trying to instill that in my children right now. One in particular. The fear of failure is real for everyone, but so is actually FAILING. EVERYONE fails. Nothing worthwhile is accomplished easily. It took me almost forty years to learn that."
10."20/20 eyesight. Damn genes."
11."The food my family made. I always thought it was boring because we had it almost every single day, but now I’m starting to miss it."
12."I was always clever, but for some reason, I was ashamed of it. Being academically gifted was somehow uncool. So I dumbed myself down and dicked around and kind of didn’t fulfill my potential."
13."Where I lived. It's so easy to find a reason to hate wherever you are. But at the end of the day, you still live there. Might as well try to appreciate the good things about it."
Older people, what is something you regret not appreciating more when you were younger? Tell us what it is and why in the comments below.
