The No Regrets List

revisiting my "no regrets list" half a lifetime later

I was going through some old boxes last week and came across one labeled COLLEGE (all caps, written with a Sharpie). When I saw it, I knew I was in for a good time. A trip down memory lane packed with photo albums, school IDs, the tank top I wore on our senior bar crawl, old business school books, and two notes to myself: "My Life Dreams" and "The No Regret List."

I vividly remember writing those notes. It was the last week of school, and we were all very much in our feels. I lived with nine girls, so when I say “very much in our feels,” I mean VERY in our feels. Our friendship song - not to be confused with our fight song - was “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey, which spent fourteen consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart at the time. It was a banger. We’d sing it at the top of our lungs at bars, parties, in our cars, and in our old creaky house on 15th Avenue. And when we played it for the very last time, as we all attempted to drive away, only to continue sitting there in our respective cars, we literally sobbed. Oh, what a time!

Anyway, back to the lists. On the day of my marketing final, our professor gave a home run speech, likened to a commencement address. He spoke of our futures, the rest of our lives, and encouraged us to pursue our dreams and live without regrets. After that final, I headed to the library to study for the next finance exam. But instead of opening my books, I grabbed my notebook and my favorite inky black ballpoint pen. What were my dreams? I had many, but I hadn’t put them down on paper, so I got to work.

I followed my dreams list with my "No Regrets List." Twenty-one and ripe with promise, what would I do with my life to live without regrets over the next 1, 5, 10, and 20 years?