The Student Room Group

Anyone else feel like they wasted their teenage years?

19, regret not making the most of my teens. Dont have any fond memories of it. Barely ever put my foot outside the house. Didnt make the best of friends. Regret not taking part in sports earlier. Regret not taking up a part time job earlier and so on....

tbh my parents were quite strict and didnt really let me have a social life but thats not to say I couldve gone around that problem by joining clubs, gym, part time job etc. but I was comfortable being at home which I regret dearly for all the golden opportunities/time I wasted. constantly thinking about it 24/7.

Wanna be 13 again😔

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Reply 1
I can relate OP
Okay hear this.. I’m 19 lives with only my mother (just the two of us) we recently moved from usa to england. its been a year now and i dont know anyone or haven’t made any friends at all maybe perhaps i dont drink or smoke or go to night clubs so i dont really fit in. its me, my mother & my job. In a total new area with different culture and new people.



you think you’re lonely? No my friend.. you’re not..
Reply 3
Original post by Anonymous
Okay hear this.. I’m 19 lives with only my mother (just the two of us) we recently moved from usa to england. its been a year now and i dont know anyone or haven’t made any friends at all maybe perhaps i dont drink or smoke or go to night clubs so i dont really fit in. its me, my mother & my job. In a total new area with different culture and new people.



you think you’re lonely? No my friend.. you’re not..


The regrets come from not making the most of my teens when I couldve done soo many things and experienced new things even without friends. I can sort of relate to you cause I moved to England from Germany when I was around 14 but ofc I was going to a school where I was going to meet new people etc. btw are you/planning to go to uni in the future?
Reply 4
Original post by Anonymous
19, regret not making the most of my teens. Dont have any fond memories of it. Barely ever put my foot outside the house. Didnt make the best of friends. Regret not taking part in sports earlier. Regret not taking up a part time job earlier and so on....

tbh my parents were quite strict and didnt really let me have a social life but thats not to say I couldve gone around that problem by joining clubs, gym, part time job etc. but I was comfortable being at home which I regret dearly for all the golden opportunities/time I wasted. constantly thinking about it 24/7.

Wanna be 13 again😔


I had a bit of a crisis about this a few days ago too. I had an uncomfortable and awkward friendship group in my early teens and we rarely went out together, I live in an awful town where there's basically nothing to do except wander around the town centre (which is probably around 90% pound shops at this point tbh) and I'm still finding it impossible to find a part time job here even though I've been trying since 15. To put it simply my teenage years have been pretty dull.

However what I've realised is that it really doesn't matter. I know it's hard to believe that right now as I think many teens feel pressured that they have to make the most of their lives now and that if they don't have the teenage years that are portrayed in films and books (parties, going out every weekend etc.) then they're wasting their lives but this really isn't true. Life doesn't end at 20 - you still have plenty of time to pick up a sport, get a part time job, make memories with friends etc. Why not sign up to take part in a sport now?

Being a teenager is in fact a hard period of time for a lot of people and many are glad to see the end of it. So please don't feel like you've ''wasted'' years of your life because this really isn't the case. You've realised that you want to change things and you have total power to do that. Things can only get better from here :smile:
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by Anonymous
19, regret not making the most of my teens. Dont have any fond memories of it. Barely ever put my foot outside the house. Didnt make the best of friends. Regret not taking part in sports earlier. Regret not taking up a part time job earlier and so on....

tbh my parents were quite strict and didnt really let me have a social life but thats not to say I couldve gone around that problem by joining clubs, gym, part time job etc. but I was comfortable being at home which I regret dearly for all the golden opportunities/time I wasted. constantly thinking about it 24/7.

Wanna be 13 again😔


You didn't lose these years and if you did, does it really matter? Would these "golden opportunities" really help you now (hmm maybe some extra $$$ you can do without)? If you did alll this stuff doing your teen years, would you not have different regrets?

The past is the past. Now move on to the future and make yourself proud!
I mean you're only 19??? You're talking like you're middle aged but you can still do all that stuff now e.g take part in sports, make friends, have a social life etc. Don't mourn over what you did and didn't do in the past and start doing it now, you're still young.
I wasted most my teenage years in high school, couldn’t find the right people and it took me a year of being at college to find better friends, the point is just take life how it comes and don’t look back with regret, you’re relatively young still so plenty of time to make up for “wasted years”.
yuuuuppp :s i can relate, but i wldnt want to go back more than 17, currently 21.
Reply 9
Original post by RandomTennisfan
I wasted most my teenage years in high school, couldn’t find the right people and it took me a year of being at college to find better friends, the point is just take life how it comes and don’t look back with regret, you’re relatively young still so plenty of time to make up for “wasted years”.


Only if I had this crisis when I was 16. I mostly regret the past 3 years tbh.
Original post by bakedbeans247
yuuuuppp :s i can relate, but i wldnt want to go back more than 17, currently 21.


I would love to go back to anytime atleast 3 years back. Imagine having all the knowledge you have now and being a kid....
yeah i didnt have the best teenage years either but i made up for that at uni. the main thing i missed out on was the development of my social skills
Original post by Anonymous
I would love to go back to anytime atleast 3 years back. Imagine having all the knowledge you have now and being a kid....


ikr, it would be so amazing, i had absolutely no confidence back then...
Original post by bakedbeans247
ikr, it would be so amazing, i had absolutely no confidence back then...


I guess we're late bloomers :smile:
Original post by Anonymous
I guess we're late bloomers :smile:


pretty annoying though isn't it? :s
Original post by bakedbeans247
pretty annoying though isn't it? :s


hell yeah, btw are you at uni?
Original post by Anonymous
hell yeah, btw are you at uni?


Yeah, just finished 2nd yr...you?
(edited 5 years ago)
How do I not waste my teenage years??? I'm 15.
x
Original post by Anonymous
How do I not waste my teenage years??? I'm 15.
x


Don't let this thread stress you out. No one truly wastes their teenage years even if they think they do.

Whatever you do, you will regret something about your teenage years (I heard people wishing to have not done so many extracurriculars etc because they ended up being chronically stressed (and getting lesser grades) for having too many things to do (opposite to OP's case)). I suggest you do not stress about it and only do as much work as you can handle without affecting your well-being and school grades (even less work than that is fine).

There is no going back so go forward the best way you can in life!

Good luck and all the best!
Yes, 100%.

As a teenager I didn't really care much about myself. I was fat, unsociable, had bad skin, completely lacked in confidence, and had the worst sense of fashion ever. I did have some amazing friends, who I am grateful for of course, but my teenage years were nothing like those that I saw other people having. I was never (and have still never been) one of the "popular" people.

I have now lost weight, and sorted my skin and fashion sense, and my confidence is growing. I feel like I have made up for my teenage years somewhat, but it just isn't the same or anywhere near as care free now I'm well into my twenties.

Trust me, anyone reading this who feels this way, try your best to change things, or you will regret it.

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