What did you give up that you wish you hadn't? (page 2)

wonderwoman77

I gave up sports. I use to play basketball, volleyball and softball. I was a very good athelete at one time....

Rummy1

Errr..how about a career..a life???!!!
No really.....REALLY!

Comic books....18 (R) films
Sex..till I was 22 and married
Fun packed sex packed vacations
"Worldly" magazines and books
Clubbing and pubbing
Getting pissed(drunk) every weekend
Gambling
Lottery(see above)
Porn (oh no I'm lying)
Masturbation (oh no I'm lying)

Adam

I tossed CDs from the Beasie Boys, Metalica, and AC/DC. But the thing that I most rue giving up was my freedom of thought.

VioletAnai

Oh Beck, the guilts are terrible. But I dull out my conscience. Bong's are just too much fun. So I live alone and smoke with my drug buddies and all the while guilt is eating away in the back of my mind. slowly, cause, you know, I've drugged it!! But then I'll have real trippy dreams about how Jehovah is gunna reprove me by embarrassing me in the cong. or inflicting some sort of pychosis on me like Nebonidus. Ho hum.

You've been a BAD boy, go to MY room

Francois

I gave up an awful lot of really good sex. But then I gave in to a lot of really good sex, too. Then I'd have conscience problems and pass up two or three good screws, and then I'd give in again and go for it. It was a viscious cycle, till I hit college. Then I said to myself, "self, you gotta stop this." So I did. I got rid of the conscience thing. And then to my amazement, I discovered that assemblies don't start with "ass" for no reason.

But sex is like fishing. No matter how many you catch, you always remember the ones that got away.

Francois

NOTE TO GOVERNING BODY: You've been challenged to a debate, boys. Dont you have ANY balls?

Bodhisattva

College, in a word. College for free and while I was still 18, in nine words. Now a few more:

Remember the story of the Christians caught in a flood who refused rescue because "The Lord will provide," drowned, find out at the Pearly Gates that the Lord's provision was the attempted rescues?

Something like that with me and college. I graduated high school before the 1992 new light on wishy-washy approval of college maybe if you're gonna pioneer with your degree. Bad association, they said. They said it at meetings, especially at conventions, and in the literature. College is a waste, results in bad association, time is short, faith will be destroyed, and so on. The implication was always that you were weak, would bend to any pressure, would slip into debauchary in an instant. Meanwhile my Catholic friend in 6 years never touched a drop of alcohol (her personal conviction) and otherwise remained a "good Catholic."

Freshman year: Homeroom teacher tells me I should go to college, am being brainwashed. My retort? "You're brainwashed against Jehovah's Witnesses." My father's benefits includes free tuition for one person at the college where he works, but I am determined not to go even though I could live at home.

Sophomore year: I attend vocational training half the day, mostly college-prep level courses the other half. Sucks ass. I need a challenge, and am frustrated by a mid-level course at the real school, must less dealing with the neanderthals at the vocational high school.

Junior year: Our team, including myself and some seniors, does better than my school ever has at the county "Scholar's Bowl," a Jeopardy-like academic knowledge competition. At the end of the year, I am invited to the senior awards evening, where I get a prize from Cornell (a signed edition of a Carl Sagan book, which I later donated to the library). Naturally I am encouraged to go for some of the same scholarships awarded that night so that I'll win something more substantial in my own senior year; naturally I never apply. Oversleep PSAT's, don't worry 'cause I wouldn't want to win one of the scholarships.

Senior year: Editor of student newspaper, system operator and founder of school BBS (pre-Internet dial-in bulletin board system). SAT score 1440 (trust me, this is rather good). We win the "Scholar's Bowl," and the teacher who coaches it tells me that if I want, one of the two one-year scholarships to the local community college (again, living at home) is mine for the asking. I decline. Graduate in top 10 of a class of nearly 1000.

Post graduation: Get a series of crappy retail jobs at 1.2x to 1.8x minimum wage for eight years, hate it immensely. Service time? I'm sure not pioneering, but do get some decent time in because of weekdays off (never got more than four full weekends off, counting vacations, per year); since retail involves working weekends, elders who only get out on Saturdays are not impressed. Shortly after graduation they refuse recommendation to Bethel because I had just moved to the congregation from one where, a year before, my newly-graduated friend had become an MS, who went to Bethel a few months later. Thanks, Mom. (Well, now, really). Didn't hear back from Ministerial Training School. Finally made MS at 22, finally moved into own place at 24. Continued to sink into debt.

Today: Remember my tee-totally Catholic friend? I should have shunned her as bad association (solely because she was not a Witness), but kept in touch instead. She got me an interview at her first employer. Stayed 3 1/2 years with steady pay increases and even stock options, although they are kind of soaked ("under water")for now. Began night school; very tiring with meetings and service. Just over a year ago moved to another company working for a fellow who I had worked with at the first company. "Engineer" title, continuing night school, stopped going to meetings when I started here. Grand plan is to stay another 1 - 1.5 years to build up resume, get better pay still, hope it makes life easier. Still in debt, but can see being free of it on the horizon.

Still far from the degree, which not only gets one in the door without having to know someone, but also confirms you have a boatload of knowledge on how the world actually works, including stuff that you don't learn in the school of hard knocks because it has so few classrooms. Can see that on the horizon too, but I regret - a word I was criticized for using until I showed a scripture where God "regretted" - I regret not going to school while I was fresh out of college and wasn't working 40 hours per week. I regret not building up my socialization post high-school with people of different backgrounds who wanted to be where they were, rather than among the working stiffs and evil management dweebs of retail. I regret not taking advantage of a free ride for all four+ years, a free ride for one year, or untold scholarships.

Bite me, Watchtower. Bite me, Governing Body. You had a member with a biology degree - Lloyd Barry - who allowed all that tripe to get into the Creation book. You have a member, Dan Sydlik, who made a statement that any idiot could swing a hammer (my vocational training was in carpentry), but Bethel needs folks with skills. You didn't allow me to cultivate my skills, which means I didn't use them in your service, and I didn't get the benefit of them for a long time. I could have been a dot.com millionaire, cashed in when I felt I could live comfortably and pursue my goals, and given you a chuck of change. I would have used my degree to support a pioneer wife in your service. I would have gone to foreign lands and helped you build up your membership in new fields. Instead I worked in demeaning jobs, only to come back to needing to go to college anyway to support just myself, and all the debt from not making enough to live on, even though you insisted I would. Bite me bite me bite me.

Bodhisattva

willowstreet

I gave up my friends that I had been raised with since grade school... Or shall I say I shunned them for being "worldly".

We were also on a softball league together for many years...gave that up too.

I regret hurting my frineds, but they have forgiven me.
Just need to pick up a glove and ball now.

Richard

What did you give up that you wish you hadn't?

wonderwoman77

Rummy1

Adam

VioletAnai

Francois

Bodhisattva

willowstreet

jolly_green_giant

ashitaka

Skeptic

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