Mistakes are something that we all make, no matter how hard we try to avoid them. It’s how humans learn, no matter how old we are, and no matter how easy the right answer might seem in retrospect.

These 17 people can see clearly where they went wrong, and they’re sharing what they hope will be the worst mistake they ever made.

17. One bonehead move.

I used to live in a penthouse that was built onto the roof of an existing apartment building. Floor 14 was the top floor of the main building and it had PH1-4 on it, there was a flat roof, then there was PH5, and PH6 on top of it. I lived in PH5 and I forgot my keys one day and my roommates wouldn’t be home for an hour. I decided it would be a good idea to use the window in the stairway, which happened to be at PH6 level to jump down onto their special roof area at my level so I could climb through my bedroom window. It had rained the night before and the wood their “patio” was made of was slicker than it looked. The ceilings of our level were 12′ high so I was jumping from about 14.5′ up. It didn’t look too bad, but when I landed my feet immediately slipped and I landed on my back. My ankle was completely numb. Though that ankle didn’t suffer a break, it did suffer a soft tissue injury that has caused me constant, chronic pain for the last 9 years. It ruined one of the healthiest periods of my life when I was running a few times a week and I weighed 180lbs. Over the last 9 years my weight has fluctuated dramatically, my health as well obviously, and it all coincides with whether my ankle is doing okay, or it is so bad I literally think about taking a sharp spoon and scooping out the painful areas of my flesh.

I tried for years with physios, specialists in sports medicine, MRIs, and never really got better. I gave up trying about four years ago and I have gotten to be the biggest I’ve ever been. But, I decided to try a highly recommended physiotherapist a few months back and I am seeing progress that I’ve never seen before, so things are looking up. She has been utterly fantastic.

So yeah, I basically caused myself 9 years of chronic pain because I was too idiotic to just wait for an hour or so for my roommates to get home. My ankle goes from about 1-5 on the pain scale, it’s not horrible, but chronic pain is just so damn draining, and every time I’ve tried to get back to exercising eventually it gets so bad that I stop.

16. Better late than never.

Probably that 20 years of nonstop drinking and drug use looking back and trying to understand how I made that same decision everyday is sad got myself together now at 36.

15. Listen to your gut.

Waiting to get into culinary.

Wasted a lot of time going a traditional route of getting a degree and should have done it right after high school than waste 10 years bumbling about.

14. So many people could say this.

Getting married to the wrong person.

13. Don’t be too generous.

My girlfriend dropped out of college right around the time I graduated. We’d been together for years and I had a good job lined up, so I let her move in with me. She can take some time and figure out what to do with her life, right?

Wrong! She would get really mad when I brought up that she had no job or plans to complete a degree. She got frustrated that I’d work long hours at my job and come home tired. When we broke up it took months to get her out.

I don’t think it’s a bad thing to want to be generous, but never in that way again.

12. Don’t put it off.

Losing contact with the people I cared about because “I’ll just message them tomorrow instead.”

Tomorrow never came and now the relationships are dead.

11. Sit with yourself.

My worst decision in life was not taking the time to get to know myself better. I allowed the opinions of others to dictate my life and, as a result, I made decisions that didn’t align with my core values.

It was a difficult lesson to learn, but I’m grateful for it now as it has helped shape me into the person I am today

10. Little things can add up.

I feel like I can’t really find that one “worst decision” because my life until now is just a snowball of slightly bad decisions piling up.

Don’t quit school cause it’s boring, get you driver license, and don’t take things for granted.

And don’t waste money when you can’t afford to !

9. It’s a brave new world.

Selling 981 bitcoins at $4.25.

It was great to have the $4K at the time.

8. Image isn’t worth it.

Getting caught up wanting to be flashy in a fancy ass car at 19. Please learn about interest rates and depreciation if you’ve never bought a car before.

One of the worst financial situations you can be in is stuck in an upside down loan with a high interest rate and can barely make payments on it.

7. Not even once.

Trying he**in.

6. More wrong people than right.

Kinda falling in love with wrong person.

5. That’s rough.

I was living in Beijing. I had a big ass paycheck, steady job, an apartment, HOT AF girlfriend who loved me. But then a choice came. Move with her to Paris while she does her master’s degree, and I can just live with her while I look for work and live off of my savings OR take my savings go back to my hometown and try out running my own business.

I chose the latter. She couldn’t handle a long distance relationship and has left me (and actually resents me a lot for my choice. How do I know? She told me), I’m now 30k in debt, can’t even get a side job (only 4 interviews after 100+ applications.

I even applied to hold traffic flags at a construction site because the ad said “no experience necessary” and they took the time to specifically write me a rejection email), and currently sleeping on the floor of my office because I can’t afford an apartment. I had it so good…..

4. Some bad decisions are worse than others.

Trying crystal m**h. I didn’t use for long, but damn did my life take a nose dive after that.

Been off the stuff for 2 years now, and trying to pick up all the pieces and put my life back together again. Although I don’t know if I’ll ever get back on track with a felony conviction on my record.

3. A total nightmare.

To go on an obscure hiking trail in New Zealand rather than choosing a well frequented one. I nearly died and came to terms with my death multiple times before ultimately saving myself by scaling a mountain after battling hypothermia.

I still suffer from PTSD from the cold because of me having to spend a night without shelter in the rain while having no clue where I was.

2. Do the hard things when it matters.

During my late teens, I missed the funeral of my best friend’s brother. To all the kids out there who are open to learning empathy but might not understand it yet, BE THE PERSON WHO IS THERE FOR YOUR FRIENDS.

Folks just want a shoulder to hug; do what I couldn’t and be a presence for your mate(s).

1. This is so gross.

“It’s okay I’m on the pill…”

She was not in fact on the pill.
Reproductive Coercion is no joke. Having a child should ALWAYS be a choice parents make together. Sorry to hear!

It happens to the best of us, right?

I hope the worst of my mistakes are in the past!