What If?

So as my short, yet highly entertaining college years come to an end, I start to rethink about old times and think about the “what ifs”. I’m a person that doesn’t have many regrets in life. I know that I definitely wouldn’t be the person I am today if I didn’t go through the experiences and challenges that I faced earlier in life, but I think everyone has to wonder “what if?” Now, the thing that I’m trying to do is instead of sitting here and getting all mopey and sad thinking about the past, I’m going to try to take advantage of the “what ifs” and see if I can minimize them in the next stage of my life.

The next stage in my life is going to be a big transition for me. I’m moving to the other side of the country (New York) and I’m starting an office essentially from the ground up. It’s no easy task to say the least. But I think by analyzing some of the things that I’ve gone through previously in my life, and learning from those mistakes in the future, it’ll make me have a much better experience because of it. And realistically, I think that many college students are going through the same type of scenario and going through this process might help them as well.

So here are my “what ifs” and here’s what I’m going to try to change for the future.

1. I lived in one of the quiet, more separated dorms, rather than the main freshman dorms, but what if I lived where all the other freshmen lived?

2. I joined a Fraternity, but didn’t participate in many other groups or organizations, but what if I did?

3. I slacked off through most of my first year or so in college, but what if I tried harder?

I could get into more personal and specific details but I think I’ll leave those for my own private reflection since I doubt anyone wants to hear those stories. But like I said, rather than mope and worry about the past since I know I can’t change it, here are some things I’m going to try to do when I move out to New York to hopefully not have these “what ifs?” when the next stage of my life rolls around.

1. I’ve been researching as much as possible about the potential areas to live in in New York. What’s in the surrounding area? What types of people live there? Is it a nice area? Is it quiet (well, quiet for New York) or is it loud and rowdy?

2. I’m going to try to be as active in different groups, organizations, and networks as possible. I’m going to be a recruiter so that’s always a good first step for networking. I’m a big sports fan (all sports). I love to play poker. I love social media. It’s these interests and passions that I will look for in other organizations that I didn’t participate in in college.

3. I will give it everything I have. In my opinion, I’ve realized that the harder I work, the better I will feel as a result. Not working hard and slacking off only makes me feel that I could have done more, or tried harder, and I want to make sure I don’t have those doubts in New York.

Although these opinions are personal to my own experiences, I think that many college students or even seasoned professionals have these same types of thoughts. But in my opinion, it’s the ability to understand the mistakes and lessons learned in the past and work towards ensuring that these same mistakes and regrets don’t resurface in the future.