Do You Feel Like You've Wasted Too Much Time?

My man is in California for a week+ attending two back to back conferences in his field. He works in software, there are lots of 0s and 1s (get it? binary code?) and these types of conferences keep him and his colleagues sharp and constantly learning. On one of his calls home (mostly to talk to the dog), we were discussing how we sometimes feel like we have wasted too much time, as in "where have the last 10 years gone" kind of time.We are both in our 30s now, thanks to the man's 30th birthday bash earlier this month. We are mature adults for the most part ;-) but often think about the things we wish we had done sooner, got a jump on. Part of me wishes that I really had pushed to go to design school right out of high school. The man wishes that he had done more programming for fun/designing his own software sooner than now. We look back on the years of time where we both believe that we have nothing to show for it... but you know what? We are being too hard on ourselves.

Had I gone to design school at 18 years old, would I have had the motivation, determination, dedication and all the other 'tions that I have now have with years of professional experience? I can honestly say that no, I wouldn't have made the most of it. I have a great appreciation for the work that I am doing in school now, because it means so much to me and is a labor of love. The man is in the same boat. He has worked hard to get where he is professionally. Being successful has allowed him the opportunity to explore the interests that he wants to cultivate, but he wishes that he had cultivated them sooner. Whatevs, people! Our lives are a journey and we get to places, junctures if you will, where we make decisions to do the things we love. It's the journey that gets us to these junctures. I don't want to live my life regretting the time that I have imagined that I have wasted. It's not wasted time, because it has gotten me to this point in my life where I am really hitting my stride... and after all, the time you enjoy wasting, is not wasted time.