If you could start your life all over again, from what age would you do so?

[Fossa]

OK, let's say that somehow, you were offered the opportunity to start your life over again. You'd have memories of your current life, but only to the extent in which you could understand them, depending on how young you chose to start over, and your stage of brain/bodily development: if you chose to start at 2 or 5, clearly, you might not yet be able to grasp the meaning of all your memories.

Myself, I would very much like to start over again. Adulthood is over-rated.

I have worked far too many hours, for little money, and at jobs that hold little meaning, and am often stiff, sore, hopeless, broke and depressed, with the feeling it's too late to turn things around. For a person into literature and poetry, the post college world has been very difficult. All the world seems to value are things like computers and tech stuff and business and things that hold no interest for me.

True, I have had a partner of many years, for which I am thankful...and yet, I miss how I felt when I was younger, and all in all, I'd say I had more time and more freedom to explore the things that mattered most to me, than I do now.

So, would you start over? And at what age?

Me, I'd say 7...those were some very good times, and in hindsight, I'd be able to avoid certain mistakes (hopefully), and relive things during some times when my body felt better that it ever will again, the world felt fresh, and also, I'd start dating sooner, my main regret of my early teen years...was too homophobic to try, back then.

Edit:

Forgot a no option! Or a checkbox. Sorry.

(I suppose if you're younger IRL, you could also opt to jump ahead, and be older...why, I would have to wonder)

[Gator]

does it have to be my life?  my same body?  my same family?  'cause in that case, no.

[Shiro]

I'd say probaby around 13 or 14 years old is where I'd go back to. There are things that I wish I could erase from my memory, and start over again, making a better choice the second time around. More importantly, I could have a second chance at friendships and relationships that I once had, but severed. But in the end, going through the experiences I have gone through, has made me all the wiser. 

[FenrirDarkWolf]

14-16.

Maybe I'd actually do guard in HS.

[Nova]

From 7 years

I could have socialized with other kids more and could have saved myself from being bullied. Sometimes i wish i would have forgotten some things. Also i would have had a chance to learn more french.

But i think i dont want to start again.

I learned what i shouldn't do wrong again and who I should trust.

We learn from mistakes and experiences.

[Saxon]

 I don't want to make a sad comment saying that I wouldn't...so assuming I *had to* I think I would probably go back to age 5, because I think I was just about cognisant enough at that age to entertain stories about time travel and fantasy, so I would be able to understand my retained memories in that context. Any younger and it might be so convoluted that I would grow up unable to tell the difference between retained memory and reality.

[AshleyAshes]

Here's the problem.... If I 'rebooted' to anything under the age of 18, there would be these things called 'adults' who'd tell me that I can't cook bacon at 3am if I so please.  I don't think I can go back to a life where other people control my bacon cooking.  I also think that the adults would veto me making a screen accurate Ghostbusters costume...  Or my five computers...

 

Oh god, I'd have to do high school again!?  No, no, no!  You'll never take me back to the past alive you mother fuckers!!!  I am not listening to teenage drama again!  I will blow up the past and kill all the dinosaurs if I have to!

[Saxon]

7 minutes ago, AshleyAshes said:

Here's the problem.... If I 'rebooted' to anything under the age of 18, there would be these things called 'adults' who'd tell me that I can't cook bacon at 3am if I so please.  I don't think I can go back to a life where other people control my bacon cooking.  I also think that the adults would veto me making a screen accurate Ghostbusters costume...  Or my five computers...

 

Oh god, I'd have to do high school again!?  No, no, no!  You'll never take me back to the past alive you mother fuckers!!!  I am not listening to teenage drama again!  I will blow up the past and kill all the dinosaurs if I have to!

Reboot to -66Million years.

[DrGravitas]

I suppose there's room for improvement in my 20s, so probably 21-25. I could change up my college habits, meet people, go to the gym to get myself in shape, layoff the video games a bit, short Enron, short Leeman Brothers. Ooooor I could get a jump-start on my projects instead 8D

[AshleyAshes]

18 minutes ago, Saxon said:

Reboot to -66Million years.

I'm just willing to nuke as much history as necessary to not do high school again.  I can't use Amazon Prime as a teen!  They'd take away my Visa and give me an allowance!

[Vallium]

It'd be hard to go back because my childhood was me being undeveloped in  not knowing what I want and being supressed in my instincts and drives.

But, if I had to I would go back to my teenage years (14-17) and try to open up more, decide to care about myself more, and do more fun things and recreational activites. Try to enjoy my teenage years more. Actually do fencing and SCA and all the cool stuff Ive wanted to.

Dealing with being a kid in my household was rough, but if there was a permanent age I would like to be/relive its my mid to late teens...I liked being a kid, it was nice.

[LazerMaster5]

no ragrets

I don't miss my adolescent years one bit. 

If I could roll back time and keep it in 2015 but I would remain my current age that would be cool though. 

[DevilishlyHandsome49]

I'd want to go back to being 18. It's only 2 years but a choice I made about a personal matter fills me with regret to this day and put me in a depressive/ self- deprecating state since then. I've had friends tell me how I shouldn't be so hard on myself about it but I honestly feel  its brought some bad karma to me since it seems like nothing great in my life ever lasts long or I'm frequently hitting bad luck

[Wulfila]

nope. I am fine

[Xaende]

Maybe 21-25. I wouldn't want to go any younger than 18 if I had to experience it all over again.

 

[AshleyAshes]

Oh my god... And if you went younger to any age where you were back into education there'd be... Homework!  HOMEWORK, PEOPLE! D:  As a working adult, when I'm done work I'm done, it's Ashley time.  When you finish school for the day... There could be an essay!  Or pages of math homework!  Three chapters of Twelfth Night by Wednesday!  I CAN'T GO BACK TO THAT!!!

[DrDingo]

This is a question I've thought about. I thought it'd be great; no obstacle is worth worry because I know how to solve it. But.. no. Why would I deliberately relive obstacles? I wouldn't be able to enjoy any fun surprises or plotlines and I'd have strange interests for my age

and nobody would believe me if I told them of my condition.

I'd make different decisions and choose different friends. Not because of regret, but because I wouldn't want to repeat the exact same events all over again. I'd eagerly await the day when I don't know what's ahead of me.

[Hewge]

The best time to start something new, is the here and now ~

[Snagged]

6 hours ago, Hewge said:

The best time to start something new, is the here and now ~

Because it's the only and thus the best option we have. 

But if you did have the option to revert back to your days of youth, then you must be already young enough if you chose this option or something really bad happened in your past

[Fossa]

If nothing else, I'd love the option of not having death loom quite as near, though....statistically, at least. 

And of course this is a hypothetical, from a person who tends to view many things hypothetically, conditionally, and even tentatively. 

[DrDingo]

Basically, this thread 

 

[Toshabi]

I would start from the getgo to relive it all again. My life ROCKS and I would tots watch the reruns. I'm diggin my current age atm cause my life ROCKS. my life ROOOOCKS.

[Strongbob]

It is sort of a weird question because the whole idea of 'reliving' your life is pretty absurd.  If you were to go back and live your life over again with knowledge of how past events played out, then you really couldn't LIVE your life again.  As soon as you used your future knowledge you'd begin to change your life path and you'd probably end up in a much different place than you are now, for better or for worse.  You wouldn't be living your life over, you'd be living a totally new life.  If you went back and truly relived your life with no knowledge of the future, how would you even notice?   I'm with Toshabi, don't try and relive your life unless you just want to enjoy the reruns. Don't hold regret for your life choices either.  Your choices made you, good and bad.  

Plus my life ROCKS too!  *high fives Toshabi*

[Saxon]

13 hours ago, Hewge said:

The best time to start something new, is the here and now ~

As snagged cub said, if we could time travel, like in the OP, we might say something different.

It is sort of a weird question because the whole idea of 'reliving' your life is pretty absurd.  If you were to go back and live your life over again with knowledge of how past events played out, then you really couldn't LIVE your life again.  As soon as you used your future knowledge you'd begin to change your life path and you'd probably end up in a much different place than you are now, for better or for worse. 

An interesting point. It occurred to me too, that the younger you chose to restart, the greater fraction of your memories would be useless.

I suppose we would also get a sense of how much of our lives are beyond our control, because we might find that some events happen no matter our actions (as in the novel Time Machine).

[Toshabi]

Lets get nerdy.

 

 

 

[AshleyAshes]

Picard got stabbed by Nausicaa.

 

[Hewge]

19 hours ago, Snagged Cub said:

But if you did have the option to revert back to your days of youth, then you must be already young enough if you chose this option or something really bad happened in your past

Both. I'd still choose my option, regardless.

[AshleyAshes]

Everyone understands that if they go back more than fifteen and a half years, it'll be their moral responsibility to stop 9/11, right?

[Conker]

As much as my life ain't perfect, and as much as I'd like to redo things in my highschool and college years, I'd choose not to go back. I've started to amount to something that passes as a functioning adult, and I'd hate to have that go away. I'm too busy with things I actually like, and starting over might mean these projects never get started, let alone finished.

Plus I drink a fuckload and you bet your dumbass I ain't gonna have my parents tell me that no, four shots of whiskey on Monday and Tuesday is bad for me. I mean it is, but I'm not going to stop now. I hate Mondays and Tuesdays.

Now, if this were like a temporary thing, go back for a year for some mental/social experiment, I'd go for it. Mostly because choir was mandatory in elementary and middle school and I"d like free singing lessons.

But I also hated elementary and middle school and a year without whiskey would be rough. As an adult, I can pay for singing lessons...

[Jtrekkie]

Most of the people chose a young age here. Although I guess most people here are young.

I've thought about this a lot; the question kind of tears you. I'm sure there is no one who honestly has no regrets (in the sense that they recognize another way could have been better), yet those regrets teach us and make us stronger, because it's better to be broken and healed than never touched.

I've made so many mistakes already, but I don't know how much I'd lose going back. I've taken time away from my nephew for try to reach someone right here (who certainly thinks I meant to serve myself). But if I did give him a spark, changing my life would hurt him.

If I did, I'd want to start at about eight or nine. I'd play less and study more, especially math and music. I'd avoid being bashful and cherish my neighbors while they were alive, and I'd make sure my parents were loved and that I was close to my grandparents. I'd avoid a scarring event and a lot of sexual burdens. I'd pursue opportunities that passed me by. I'd work harder, and I'd force myself to go on the mission trips when it would be easy.

 

But- I learned from those situations and I'm still making mistakes. I think there's easier ways to redeem the past.