Jill's Journal: If I knew now what I didn't know then

Sometime in our lives, we’ve probably been asked, or perhaps asked ourselves, “Would you want to go back in time?”

My response has never waivered: “Only if I know now what I didn’t know then.”

What I mean by this is that I would be happy to relive my childhood, those awkward teen years and my teens where I thought I was “grown up” and “knew it all”. It would be a joy to go back to my time in college, those first jobs out of college and the decades of living that followed.

But here’s the deal, I surely don’t want to make some of the same mistakes that I once made.

You know, the kind of stupid decisions that cost you a few bucks, maybe a friendship or time invested in someone who you felt was “the one” but unfortunately, those same feelings weren’t returned.

Arguments, those-oh-petty-arguments about something that really didn’t matter, like the disagreements my brother and I had while playing a board game. Perhaps it was for jealousy, probably more than any of us would ever want to admit to. There were occasions that I said or did something that I wish I could erase and purchases I would’ve never made. I would’ve studied more, ate less chocolate and cookies in exchange for more fruits and vegetables.

While it sounds like pure joy to erase all of the bad and keep all of the good from our past, given the ability to go back and do it all again, would surely make a difference on who we are today. I mean, we learn valuable lessons from our mistakes. Of course, some of those lessons are more valuable – and costlier – than others

For instance, I once made a hot dog and cheese omelet in college. I haven’t made once since, and I don’t recommend you do either. Although menial, it’s still a moment in life that I wouldn’t repeat or advise anyone to ever put in a frying pan.

While it’s impossible to go back in time and relive our childhood, our teen years and those early years of life as adult, I guess I just need to rely on good common sense when it comes to making decisions, both big and small, and to never forget that a hot dog and cheese omelet isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.