I wish...

Yesterday my students asked me what I was like in high school - some 13 years ago.  I had a hard time explaining to them what I was like.  I was certainly different than I am today, but there were elements of my true self there.  I was an idealist, hopeful, typical teenager.  But my students don't understand that abstract answer.  They wanted concrete descriptions.  So this morning I made this list for them.  Things I wish I would have done differently. We all have this list.  Some people have a longer list, and some people have a much shorter list.  This is my list.

What I wish I had done differently in high school...
I wish I would have asked my parents for more advice.
I wish I wouldn't have rolled my eyes so much.
I wish I would have embraced my teenage metabolism.
I wish I would have spent less time getting my feelings hurt, and more time building up others.
I wish I would have taken more art classes.
I wish I wouldn't have ever given that English teacher any reason to call me a "typical blond."
I wish I would have convinced everyone to vote for my best friend for Homecoming Attendant b/c she deserved it.
I wish I would have showed up for yearbook pictures my senior year instead of skipping school that morning because it seemed too inconvenient.
I wish I would have hung out with my brothers more.
I wish I would have spent less time talking and more time listening.
I wish I would have tried harder in Spanish class.
I wish I would have spent more time at home.
I wish I would have had better taste in music.
I wish I wouldn't have spent so much time worrying about embarrassing myself.
I wish I would have taken more math, because I really liked it.
I wish I would have had more conviction.
I wish I would have been nicer to the detention supervisor because she didn't deserve my snide attitude.
I wish I would have tried out for the school play.
I wish I would have realized how fragile human life is.
I wish I would have spent more one-on-one time with my youngest brother...taking him out for ice cream and other treats.
I wish I wouldn't have been so bossy.
I wish I would have hung out more with the people that would later become my really close friends.
I wish I would have been nicer to my mom and dad.
I wish I would have been a better and more cautious driver.
I wish I would have stuck up for people more.
I wish I would have chosen the colors I wanted for our Junior Prom (white and champagne) instead of the other colors that the popular girls wanted (black and red).
I wish I would have told my Social Studies teacher that I admired her.
I wish I would have taken a Family Consumer Science class.
I wish I would have embraced my inner artist more.
I wish I would have told my family that I love them more often.
I wish I would have spent less time worrying about my grades, and more time worrying about what I was learning.
I wish I would have freed myself of prejudice and skepticism, and would have embraced love and acceptance.
But most of all, I wish I would have been nicer to myself.

Now, for all of you other bloggers out there...  I would LOVE to see your list - and if possible share it with my students/children.  What do you wish? Go!