I GAVE BIRTH TO YOUUUUU UH-HAH UH-HAH UH-HAH

Here's an interesting internet trick from an interesting place: Google this phrase along with the quotation marks: "I shouldn't have kissed him/her" (him if you're a girl, her if you're a guy, or whichever floats your boat), remember the total number of results, then Google "I SHOULD have kissed her/him" (again, whichever you choose).

Usually, the internet is pretty much the underbelly of humanity, total chaos and no real clarity in sight. But it does happen, though rarely. Sometimes, in all of that mess, there's just a little clarity. We all think "I'm going to live my life without regrets!" or "Carpe diem! Do today what you could do tomorrow!" But how often is it that we really follow through? How often do we think to ourselves "I'm glad I made that choice"? It's rare, sometimes. That sounds ambiguous, but it really does depend on the situation. We make day-to-day decisions that affect our thoughts and feelings, some more lasting than others. Maybe it was a food choice (I'm glad i bought that salad instead of the cheeseburger) or maybe it was the decision to wake up (I'm glad I didn't miss class). These smaller decisions are more common. But what about the bigger picture? What about the things that don't simply last the day? What about the choices that have a more significant effect on our psyche?

Did you hug the person closest to you and tell them why they're so important? Did you apply for that job? Do you feel the plans you have made are the plans you want? Did you write that story? All these questions, plaguing the mind, never letting go, never letting you forget. It's stressful, and it's something we all face on a day to day basis. How is it possible to face these regrets and be able to stand straight?

That's easy. The thing about regrets is that they're awesome teachers. "I should have kissed her" teaches you that sometimes, you just have to take that leap of faith. "That job could've been mine" becomes your drive to fill out that next application. "I wish I could put that into coherent words" instructs you to go out and find them.

No one's saying to go out there, pull a Whitman and sound your barbaric YAWP over the world. Because not everyone is ready for that quite yet. Someday, our YAWP will shake walls. But for now, it's okay to start small. "I'll try to make decisions that I'll be proud of" can soon become "I'm making decisions I'm proud of" as long as that's what you really want. Like they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So just lose those regrets, step by step.