[Anonymous]

My parents never pushed me hard enough to get out and do stuff when I was a child and early teen. As a result I spent so many many hours of my life on video games, like an absolutely horrendous amount. I just feel like I completely wasted my youth (I'm now 21). As a result I don't really have any special skills, like I can't play an instrument, dance, paint, or anything like that and my social skills probably aren't up to the standard of other people because I was never particularly social. In my early adulthood I've found cool hobbies and I get outdoors a lot but I just feel so guilty and disgusted when I look at my life and a realise how much of it i've wasted. Has anyone else had similar experiences?

[marsman13]

Hey man don't ponder on the negative that just brings you down. You can always start a hobby at whatever age, you can grab a guitar now and learn to play. There's nothing stopping you improving your life now, you have your whole life to look forward to.

The past is the past and its DUST! It's what you do now that defines you.

[M4LLY]

Don't be negative man. Of many people i know their 20s were the best times of their lives (so they say). Its never too late to start living life .

[advent2]

(Original post by Anonymous)
My parents never pushed me hard enough to get out and do stuff when I was a child and early teen. As a result I spent so many many hours of my life on video games, like an absolutely horrendous amount. I just feel like I completely wasted my youth (I'm now 21). As a result I don't really have any special skills, like I can't play an instrument, dance, paint, or anything like that and my social skills probably aren't up to the standard of other people because I was never particularly social. In my early adulthood I've found cool hobbies and I get outdoors a lot but I just feel so guilty and disgusted when I look at my life and a realise how much of it i've wasted. Has anyone else had similar experiences?

I wouldn't really say I started living my life until I was 16 years of age. If you watch the film 'American Beauty', Lester Burnham didn't really start living his life until he was in his 40s. Like he says in the film it's never too late to turn things around. As long as you are still living and breathing, you have the opportunity to do things with your life.

It's all about perspective really. You may feel like you've wasted your life so far but you could live until you're 100 years of age. Life expectancy is increasing all the time and you always read about people doing degrees or skydives in their 70s.

It doesn't matter that you don't have any special skills. So what if you can't play an instrument. Unless you want to be a musician, it really doesn't matter. Sure it's a good skill to have but to learn a skill just for the sake of having it or to be deemed a 'success' is pointless.

You need to decide what you want to do with your life and devote your time and resources to that. I was like a headless chicken when I was younger. I did random night college courses and voluntary work placements just to boost my CV but most of it wasn't even relevant to my future career.

Even if you could paint or play an instrument now or speak Latin, how would that improve your life? unless you actually intend to do a job that requires one of those skills, it's all pretty pointless in that respect. I know some people do things just because they like doing them and that it's not all career orientated but the point that I'm trying to make is that you're life hasn't been a failure thus far just because you don't have those types of skills.

[Profesh]

"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." - John Lennon (et al.)