• Question: If youy could start your life over again what would you do differently?

    Asked by PaulaJ on 23 Jun 2021.
    • Photo: Chloe James

      Chloe James answered on 23 Jun 2021:

      Definitely work harder in school. I did really well in my GCSE exams, and assumed that I would be able to put in the same effort at A Levels. When it got to my first set of exams, I did horrendously and then developed a huge fear of exams because of it. I think if I’d have put more work in from the start, I wouldn’t have been so fearful of the exams.

      I think I’d also ask more questions. I was really shy at school and often thought that asking a question might make me look silly or imply that I wasn’t as smart as the rest of the class. Looking back, asking questions is one of the the ways that people learn, so I had nothing to worry about.

    • Photo: Caroline Roche

      Caroline Roche answered on 23 Jun 2021:

      I would probably put a lot more effort into my school work but also look at doing an apprenticeship rather than going straight to university.
      I really enjoyed university and it led me to my current career, but working with some of the apprentices has shown me how valuable it is to have that hands on experience alongside the formal learning aspect.

    • Photo: Sam Hurst

      Sam Hurst answered on 24 Jun 2021:

      I would probably put less emphasis on getting ‘amazing’ grades and focus on ‘good’ grades with a work life balance built in. Employers want well rounded individuals..

    • Photo: Tommy Shinton

      Tommy Shinton answered on 25 Jun 2021:

      I would try and worry less about what other people think when I was at school – when you get older you realise what other people think doesn’t matter all that much – as long as you are happy with yourself.

      In terms of my life in general there’s not much I would do differently – the choices I’ve made and mistakes too have made me who I am and influenced my life now and the friends I have – so I wouldn’t want to change that.

    • Photo: Carys Kelly

      Carys Kelly answered on 28 Jun 2021:

      I would try to put less pressure on myself. Looking back, I spent a lot of time at school trying to be perfect and likeable, so much so that I lost who I was. I forced myself to like things my friends liked and did things I didn’t enjoy doing. So, I’d love to go back and be able to relax a bit more so I could be myself. At the end of the day, if people don’t like you for who you are, they’re not the kind of people you want to have in your life!

      Apologies, that got a bit deep!

    • Photo: Ruth McKinlay

      Ruth McKinlay answered on 1 Jul 2021: last edited 1 Jul 2021 7:26 am

      I would spend less time fretting about the small things and more time just enjoying being young. I would put the same amount of effort into my school work as that is what got my the job I have today, but I would put way less energy into worrying about how I looked and what people thought of me.

      I would also have invested in bitcoin back in the early 2000s…

    • Photo: Tom Kitching

      Tom Kitching answered on 12 Jul 2021:

      I think I would have done a year abroad somewhere. Either at the end of university or maybe as part of my course – some courses allow you to do a year in the USA or Australia or Singapore and places like that. It’s harder to do something like that after you are in permanent employment.

      I would have also done more work experience in my summer holidays. It would have been good to just shadow somebody like an electrician and a plumber to gain some work experience and practical skills.

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