Re: What do You Regret Not Doing
@OP Wow, I can't believe you did that. I mean I can see being shocked or stunned, but that should wear off in short order. Oomph.
Mine is that I didn't come forward after I started a fire in my school's bathroom that very nearly became a blaze. I used to be in all VI classes in elementary school, and the teachers and my parents agreed that I wasn't ready to go off to middle school where they wanted to mainstream me out, so they made me repeat fifth grade. I was highly displeased with this. For one thing, it meant that I wouldn't be moving on with my friends. For another, I didn't much care for the teacher that stepped in to take a dual role with the VI kids. So, basically, there were enough of us that they needed two teachers.
Now, I'd been stealing matches and sneaking them into the bathroom. I'd light one, let it burn down, then chuck it in the toilet and flush it. Then I brought a knife to school and scratched up the stall walls in the bathroom. I would come back and always tell the teachers that it smelt like burning in there and they'd go investigate. One day though, I actually set the fire in the trash can. When it had caught good and proper, I left. I didn't keep my mouth shut though and was happy about what I'd done. When they put the fire out, they discovered that the flames had almost been burning high enough to catch the paper towel dispenser.
I had someone help me dispose of the extra two matches that I had left, but they found the pack in the storm drain we threw it down. I later found out that the guy ratted me out.
In the end, they gave me 5 days of in school suspension for possession and couldn't prove that I actually started the fire. They wanted to do worse, but my dad went in there and yelled and screamed at them.
See, this is where it gets bad. Starting a fire that could have killed people was bad, hiding the evidence was also bad, but not coming forward when I had plenty of opportunities was the worst. I didn't understand what it meant to lose the trust of my parents or what it meant to have that trust. See, my dad went to bat for me in a major way, and I smugly went on with my life and didn't say a word.
When I was much older, I told him because at that point, he couldn't do anything to me over it. He always wanted to know if it was me who had started the fire. That record followed me when I went to the high school in the same district - middle school was in a different district for me.
Now, for anyone of the right age to really absorb the lesson here, all I can say is that honesty will serve you much better. You don't want to lose your parents' trust, because they're your allies against the world until you become of an age where you can fight for yourself. And if you don't feel comfortable with your parents, because of how they treat you, you can get help from other sources. You can't expect people to believe you though if you lie and prove to them you can't be trusted.
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