Regret is an emotion that everyone experiences. It’s a sinking feeling when you realize you made a choice you wish you hadn’t. Whether it’s saying the wrong thing, missing an opportunity, or not giving your best effort to something, regret is not something you want to feel all the time.

Students can often regret not studying enough or not speaking up when it mattered. Adults regret the chances they didn’t take all the time. No matter the age, the feeling is the same; everyone wishes they could have done something different. People can learn from regret, and it can help them grow and think twice before making the same mistake. It’s better to reflect and learn from your mistakes instead of dwelling on the past because it can weigh you down. It’s not good to be stuck in the past.

“I rejected the girl that I liked back then because of how immature I was,” said senior Jose Garcia. “Looking back, I think a lot of the immaturity came from the insecurities I built up then.”

This is one example that students have regret and dwell on the past because of the things they have said or done in the past. Students should learn to speak their mind and enjoy their life instead of being stuck in the past over a single or multiple mistakes.

Regret is a lesson to be learned from, but regret will always be there even when you’ve grown and think that you learned from it, because everyone makes mistakes in their life, so it’s best to live with it, not erase it, and think you’re done with it.

Regret is part of being human; everyone messes up, but what matters is how you handle it and grow from it.