[cloudcompeller]

Though it's better to look forward, looking at your past isn't always a bad idea. Where did you want to go back? What make you think so?

 

[comeasyouare]

At 0 years ...

 

[Vin The Dreamer]

Adolescence. Though I believe I learned a lot living it the way I did, but if I had the chance to go back and do it again, I might be more proactive and enjoy it more. But then again, a part of me is afraid of losing lots of good moments that did happen because of the way I lived through it. So I think it's best to not play the 'Butterfly Effect' game and instead change the present.

 

[illicit iridescence]

Think I'll wait with replying until I hit 60 (another 30 years from now) xD :3

 

[Absurdist]

I would go back to the decision i made to go away to school. I wouldn't have.

If i did not i would have already graduated and not have gone through such drastic life changing events. Everything would be different and i would be much closer to where i thought i would be in my life at this point as far as my future is concerned. Doing what i had, has put a hold on a lot of everything.

 

[Peppermint Mocha]

If I get to keep the experience I gained thus far...teenage days.
I'd enjoy life more and not worry so much. I would not let fear dictate the choices I made and I would simply accept not everyone will like me.

Also there were so many opportunities I turned down trying to please soooo many people. I would have explored those opportunities and be happy for ME.

 

[basementbugs]

I'd probably choose to go back to somewhere around 10 or 11 -- if I was allowed to keep the knowledge of what my life has turned into today, that is. I'd do anything I could to prevent myself from going down the very unhealthy road that I did. If I wasn't able to have those memories though, I'd probably just say about 17 or 18... just to go back to that period and buy myself more time, essentially. Time for what, I'm not sure... maybe time to avoid becoming an adult. Time to appreciate those years more because I miss them, even if they were miserable as hell in their own way.

 

[infpblog]

Even with the ability to keep the knowledge of what I know today, I wouldn't go back to anytime. I have way too much to loose. It's the entire Butterfly Effect syndrome. Yes, I could redo some bad decisions, but I love my wife and kids, the people I have in my life and the life I have now.

Even if I remembered the exact day and minute, we turned in our adoption papers, I wouldn't risk ending up with different kids. Even if I could remember the exact way I met my wife, and knowing where I had to be at what time, I wouldn't risk us not getting along and connecting because I would be a different person if I changed my past.

I've made some really bad decisions in my life but I wouldn't take the chance of correcting old regrets if it meant losing what I've created in my life.

However, if I had absolutely no choice and someone said, I'm going to send you back in time no matter what, I would memorize the wining lotto numbers and ask them to send me back one week.

 

[HappyThoughts]

Back to 3-10 When there was no pressure to be someone else, no worries, and simple joys being fulfilled. When all of the cartoons were still good and it was acceptable for me to have irrational wants and loves. I miss the sippy cups and billions of stuffed animals....and everyone thinking I was cute back then was pretty awesome too. :/

 

[Miss Scarlet]

Well can I take what I know now with me? If I can't there's really noreason to go back since it will all just happen again anyway.

 

[FlowerChild]

Assuming I would have the same knowledge as I do now,i would go back to six grade. I would cherish every moment and slack off until I reached high school.
Once I reached high school I wouldn't care what anyone thought of me and i would realize just how stupid everything was, and would befriend the people I wanted to and focus on my grades.

 

[Gabrielle Johnson]

I would love too keep some of the knowledge i have without the fear and anxiety and do high school over. I would be more active and get better grades in school. someone invent a time machine stat
some inspiration:

 

[bromide]

I'd go back to my late teens, maybe 18. Reason being that if I had all of my experiences intact, I would be able to take some preventative measures on certain medical issues because I'd have the foresight for it. At that point I'd be old enough to not have to be under the parental thumb as a child and also have my whole 20s ahead of me, some parts of which were really fun and some parts of which I would have liked to have had the chance for a do-over.

 

[perpetual daydreamer]

I'm not sure I'd actually go back in time and change anything. The experiences we have shape us and become an integral part of who we are. If I had to go back anyway, I'm not sure anything would actually change. The scenarios might be slightly different, but I think the core elements of who I am would be remain essentially the same.

 

[Thalandor]

If I were to go back at any stage and start over, I would miss the experiences that I've had so far, and that isn't worth it. And I think this shows acceptance in ones self. I've had a few bad experienecs, but the good ones outweight them so I'm happy ...ish.

 

[Blackbird]

I think it's likely that at some point I might want to go back to right now - my early 20s. While there's a lot to learn and a lot of new things to deal with and figure out, I'm pretty sure I'm living the sweet life. Things are pretty carefree, even when they're stressful. I work, but my job is fairly easy and I have a lot of time left to spend with friends, as well as time to pursue hobbies. And since I'm in my early 20s, I often have enough energy to stay up, sometimes until the sun comes up, and then get a few hours of sleep before work. I'm living in this kind of transitional state right now before really getting into the meat of what I hope to do with my life, but I've stopped having to do things I hate (homework, working at soul-sucking jobs, etc).

I really, truly would not want to go back to any point of my life in the past. Most of my childhood was spent pretty unhappily, but I don't see any reason to mess with what I have going on now - I'm excited to be where I am. I have the opposite of regrets. The mistakes in my childhood help me appreciate what I have in the present.

 

[krentz]

Ooh, this is an interesting question. I wouldn't want to live through high school again, I think. I might have been at my most productively creative then, but I was also at my most desperate, particularly later on. Just thinking about it chills me, if only because I think that it is all too easy for me to take the intensity of that suffering for granted now I've put it behind me and moved on. Also, while it would be great to relive certain times in my life, the thought of having to do everything I've already done to get back here, however much I may complain sometimes, makes me queasy. I wouldn't do anything differently. Well, maybe ONE thing.

Ideally, I'd go back from birth up until about age 12 or 14, and then just cut the rest of the crap out and leap forward to the present, waking up tomorrow. And I'd want the memories to come with me, nice and fresh. I bet that would be interesting. Actually, that sounds fantastic. A guy can dream.

 

[Oh_no_she_DIDNT]

If I could do one phase of life over for enjoyment, childhood for sure! Yeah, riding around the neighborhood on my bike with my sister and best friend not caring if my clothes didn't match or if my hair was a mess... playing barbies in the basement... just having fun exploring the world and life.

If I could do one phase over and change some things, I'd say mid to late 20's. I had to learn some tough lessons during this phase and I certainly would do it differently today if I had to, but then again the struggles of that phase of my life has brought me to a happier and more peaceful 30.... so I guess I'm okay with letting the past be the past and the present be the present.

 

[Aviator8849]

I would want to go back to the day of my Grade 8 graduation, or possibly a week or so before that, and a tiny bit of knowledge and self-confidence. My personal life would likely be far better (not necessarily painless, just in existence) although my professional life may be drastically different from what it has become. Maybe not the best choice, but since I have been lamenting the lack of a personal life the past few days it is my current choice.

 

[OrangeAppled]

There's been too many ups & downs.... I'm not sure I'd want to go back & change stuff, because then it would just be different ups & downs.

I did the best I could with what I knew/had at the time & how emotionally mature I was at the time. I mean, sometimes I think I should've studied something else in college, or taken time off to travel first, etc; but then I remember why I made the decisions I did, and I can't see myself making different decisions unless I had the knowledge of how those things would turn out in the future, and even then, the decisions I made may still be better than their alternates.

I don't think of myself as any kind of victim, but I look at a lot of bad turns in my life & see CIRCUMSTANCE leading to them as much as bad decisions (if not more so). There are so many variables in life that are uncontrollable & unpredictable - "stuff happens". I look at many decisions and see the same outcome no matter what I would've done; it was just unavoidable given what I had to work with.

I mean, I had to move back in with my parents after I lost my job (the business went under). I was already looking for other work before that happened & had a savings to live off of for a bit in case of a few months of unemployment...I did my best to prevent what I didn't want to happen, and I still ended up there. What could I go back & change that is really in MY control and not at the mercy of circumstance? Not much, and not enough to make a real difference.

But playing the game.... I enjoyed childhood, especially age 7-10 or so, and I wouldn't mind living that again. The teen years were rough...if I was forced to re-do them, then I'd want to be more confident in myself & less withdrawn, less of a loner in fear of exposing my vulnerability. However, all that time spent in isolation, in painful existential examination of myself & everything, was time I spent forming who I am. I sort of emerged from that cocoon with a rather advanced-for-my-age understanding of people & life. I'm not sure first-hand experience interacting with peers would've given me those insights. So I wouldn't want to relive that nor change it...