Roasted vegetables and dippy eggs!
The lunch of champions!
At around noon, I roasted some Brussels sprouts after tossing them in olive oil and garlic salt while I sautéed about a quarter of a chopped red onion.
Once the vegetables were ready, I placed them in a bowl with a handful of walnuts and topped them with two dippy eggs, allowing the yolk to drip all over the vegetables.
So incredibly good. If you haven’t tried using egg yolk as a “sauce,” I highly recommend it!
I also had an apple and a Babybel light cheese. Sweet + Salty!
Regret
On my morning walk with Sadie today, I listened to NPR’s TED Radio Hour podcast on “The Pursuit of Happiness.”
The podcast featured three different speakers with one, Kathryn Schluz, speaking specifically about regret.
Three tidbits I found really interesting (according to Kathryn):
- Of all the regretful feelings experienced by people, the most regret surrounded decisions made relating to education (what we studied, lack of education, what we did with the education that we did get)
- Regretful feelings surrounding decisions relating to careers, relationships and parenting followed education, but were also strong
- People also noted feeling significant financial regret, though these feelings weren’t as intense and didn’t seem to “stick” like other regretful feelings
The statistic surrounding the regret people feel about education stated that 36 percent of regretful feelings experienced by people pertain to decisions made regarding education.
I found that fascinating.
I’m not sure why it was especially interesting to me, but I cannot help but notice just how many of my peers seem to be changing directions in their careers right now. I did it myself last year!
I turned 27 last month, so I suppose this makes sense. My friends and peers studied one thing, gave it a shot in the “real world” for a few years and realized it wasn’t what they wanted to do for the rest of their life. Off the top of my head I can think about one friend who is currently a news anchor, but is hoping to break into advertising. Another is an editor who wants to study psychology and become a counselor. Big changes!
My bachelor’s degree is in advertising and public relations. My minor is in marketing and I learned very quickly that a career in marketing just wasn’t for me. (You may read a bit more about this time in my life here.)
While part of me wishes my educational background had something to do with health, nutrition, exercise or wellness, I still feel like my major is beneficial to me in my field (specifically the public relations aspect). I don’t have regret about the decisions I made surrounding my education, but I do have a lot of “what if” questions that swim through my head surrounding a bunch of different career paths.
Question of the Afternoon
- Do you have any regret surrounding decisions you made regarding your education?
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This is a great topic. I actually have been in school for maaaany different things; psychology, nutrition, law, criminology, dental hygiene, yikes. So far none of them have worked out. It is very frustrating, I still don’t know what I want to do! So I’m not even in school right now, and am hoping I’ll come across what I want to do soon, or else I may just pick something at random! 😉
I have a degree in Communications with an emphasis in journalism. I don’t regret it so to speak, but I think there’s probably a degree out there that would prove more useful to me at present.
But I also think it’s very tough for a 17 year old “kid” to make decisions about the rest of her life. I’m not the same person I was when I was 17, so how could I guarantee I made the right choice?
This does not suprise me at all! I had a hard time choosing a major but my parents told me that they would only help me pay for 4 years of college so I had to stick it out with only one major and two minors if I wanted to complete my degree in 4 years. Otherwise I would still be in school with a bunch of degrees 😉 I would definitely go back and study something health/wellness/fitness or sports management.
I have a B.A. in Communication and a M.A. in Journalism. I love writing and my job, but always wanted to do something in the fitness nutrition industry. So in 4 weeks, I’ll have my M.S. in Exercise Science and Health Promotion!
I wouldn’t say that I have any regrets about my education but I would say that it took me a really long time to FINALLY figure out what major fit best with where I saw myself going. I feel lucky enough that my bachelors education really aided my masters education in a certain way, but both were very distinct from one another to still stand alone.
I switched majors once in college, from theater (after the big wigs of my department told me to), to creative writing. I did NOT fit in with the other writing majors, and they made sure I knew it. Toward the end of my time at college, I realized what everyone else knew when I was in high school: I should have studied music and opera, especially.
It is what it is. I won’t be an opera singer, but I still take music lessons. I write in my free time because I still love putting stories and situations together, and have my first novel coming out, independently, in a few weeks (if I ever get my butt in gear! LOL).
You can’t go back, so the best thing is to make what you can of life and just try to have fun. 🙂
I really would have thought it would be more about relationships! I do regret not looking more into becoming a teacher, but I try not to regret life decisions, I honestly believe everything happens for a reason and we shouldn’t look back and think “what if?”
I LOVE this topic of conversation. I graduated with a Marketing Degree in 2009 and got your typical 8-5 job working for a bank. I was miserable going to work every morning and knew i wanted to do something fitness related, or to work with children. Well, i decided to go back to school for my masters of elementary education at the start of this new year. My last day of my corporate job was the end of April and I started classes 2 weeks ago! I am so happy I decided to take the leap… and your blog story and Courtney’s (sweettoothsweetlife) story certainly made me feel more comfortable!!!
i often look back and regret my choice of college and major…they both seemed like terrible life decisions if you base it on a career-type outlook…but then i think about the fact that had i not made those decisions, i would not have met my very best friend in the entire world…which to me seems much more important. and i probably wouldn’t have met my husband. so it may not have led me to a fantastic career, but it led me to amazing and life changing people.
I think it’s SO easy to regret your education choices in your twenties because you are like “OH MY GOSH AM I STUCK DOING THIS THING FOREVER?!”…a career change is inconceivable. But…it’s so not! Everyone changes careers! I think once you realize you can still do what you want to do, it’s such a relief.
Personally, I regret not learning how to write code and do basic graphic design when I was in college. I wish I knew how to build websites, because it would give me a huge edge in my social media/writing career! It’s not too late, and I have plans to learn how in the next year or so, but I so wish I would have just done it in college!
My bachelors are in psychology and communication. I’m starting a graduate program in September where i will get a bachelors and a masters in nursing. Big change!
I have been a teacher for three years and while I do not regret my choice of profession, I do have some reservations about the major and minors that I chose. I am a Business Education major which means I specialized in teaching things like computers, marketing, entrepreneurship, accounting, etc. I loved the subject areas when I was in university and throughout my internships but now that I am in the “real” teaching world, I have realized that I would much rather teach ELA and specifically to Middle Years. There just isn’t enough opportunity with a Business Education major to get me a position that I want. Currently I am teaching resource and I miss having my own classroom. I know that I will always be in the education field but I also know that I will not be in my current job in a few years. I will HAVE to do something different to keep my passion.
Over the last 7 months I have changed my entire lifestyle. I have lost 76 lbs, started eating much healthier and exercise on a daily basis. Things that I have never done even though I was an athlete in high school and college. I almost consider myself more of an athlete now than I was 10 years ago when I was playing basketball daily. Anyways, I have discovered a new passion in a healthy lifestyle, fitness and weight training. I have plans in the short term to go back and get my Masters in Education…I also would like to explore the option of becoming a Certified Personal Trainer. Not necessarily to make any money off it or actually train anyone, just to feed my passion!
Do I regret my education choices, not necessarily, I do however have plans to further my education to meet the new interests that I have developed. I strongly believe that education is never a waste, it gives you an opportunity to grow and further yourself.
Thanks for the great post Julie, it definitely made me think about the path that I have chosen for my life and what changes are upcoming for me. I love reading your blog as you are very real!
Oh and you just gave me a great idea of what to listen to during my morning walk with my beagle! TED, why didn’t I think of that!
Reading this post comes at such perfect timing for me! I’m 23, currently in my first year of teaching, and I’m not sure it’s cutting it for me. I don’t regret my education, but am strongly considering a career change for many different reasons.
Mine is kind of backwards. I had my entire life planned to go to med school and after a family illness forced me to stay back from University I decieded to go out in the world a bit and get a real job just to see if Med school was what I truly wanted to do. FIve years later after working in several administration roles with large oil companies I know for sure I want to head into healthcare, but I’ve decided to scale back the ambition and become a nurse. I will be starting school in the next year or so once I have the funds available to me.
There was a time (not so long ago) when I did regret the college that I attended. It was during the last semester of college when I was in the heat of my job search. A couple of my friends who had attended private universities were finding very successful jobs very easily. I, on the other hand, was struggling. Career Counseling was of no help at all. They only had advice for fields related to farming and food production, and all of their contacts were in their own state and nowhere else. How helpful is that? But since then I’ve found that I can make my own career luck/success based on the choices that I make now and the effort that I put into my work. I make my own luck!
I think there is some statistic that says we will have 5 careers in our lifetimes or something? I was a business major, went right to work in finance and marketing, then everything hit the fan in 2008 and jobs everywhere either disappeared or completely sucked! So I quit. I started grad school last year in school counseling and I’ve never looked back. It was SO scary. But now that I’m almost finished, I can’t believe I held off for so long on doing something that felt more meaningful for me.
I’m currently in this battle right now – I am in school for fashion merchandising & marketing, but as I am completing my classes (and I’m getting good grades, too!) I am realizing that it is more of a “hobby” than a career. I have always been interested in health, fitness & nutrition, so I will be furthering my education in those fields to become certified in group fitness & personal training. I’m only 20, too! 😛
I actually am about to graduate so I haven’t gotten to experience the “real world” within my degree yet. However, I have gotten to do about 4 different internships and loved every single one of them. I am getting my bachelors in Family and Human Services and I eventually want to get a Master’s in Social Work. I hope that I don’t experience any regret, but considering that with all of my internships, I have experienced great satisfaction in what I have done and have loved pretty much every aspect, I don’t think I will.
This post is THE story of my life right now. It’s reassuring to hear that so many people go through this also. I graduated a year ago with B.A. in both communication and journalism, knowing after doing an internship at a TV station that I did not want to be a reporter like I originally planned. I decided to go to grad school right away for something completely different (higher education) and now I’m having second thoughts! I’m currently trying to look for full-time work in something related to communications, writing, pr, etc. I’ve been at my current part-time job in higher education for 2 1/2 years and I definitely need to make a change. The last thing I want to do is to feel comfortable and settled at 22 years old! Now is the time to explore.
Hi Julie! I’ve been reading your blog for about a month now and I love your recipes and workouts!!
I feel ya! I was a family and child sciences major with every intent of getting my Masters in school counseling. I received my acceptance letter for the masters program, and decided i wasn’t passionate about it. It was hard for me to admit, since mostof my friends graduated and got jobs soon after in their degree. At the time I was going thru physical therapy for my knee and found I loved the environment. I am currently a PTA student finishing up my clinicals and I am loving this career change! Totally worth it if it’s what you long for 🙂
I enjoy my career. I’m a videographer/photographer, but even I sometimes question changing careers and I’ve been in this field since freshman yr of college – I’m now 28 years old.
I got married a year after high school and got pregnant a month later, I am now 24 and have three kids! I do not regret that at all, I wanted to be a young mom, but I am still trying to figure out how I can get some kind of higher education in health, nutrition, fitness, ect….so I can’t say I regret it totally, but I sure wish it was easier to be a mom and do schooling at the same time! Luckily though I still have plenty of time to do something about it, even if it’s a few more years when all my kids are in school!
Interesting! Like you, I kind of wish/wonder what could have been if I went to school for health/wellness. If I could go back today, I would definitely study to be a dietician. That said, I have a business degree & that really doesn’t hurt in any way. Funny thing is, I work in the charitable sector so I’m definitely not in the traditional business role I thought I would be when I entered university! Oooh how things change.
I’m about to start college and I don’t know if I want to major in Marketing or Advertising or Public Relations! EEEK! I don’t know the differences before the three, and the University of GA requires that we declare our major before Orientation. Any suggestions?
I think I have some regrets about education AND relationships wrapped into one. I think I may have put a little too much effort and focus into an ex boyfriend, and not enough into enjoying my college career! I graduated from college and it wasn’t until my last semester to a year (when I was single) that I could really put my focus into forming strong friendships and making lasting memories.
I definitely do not have regrets about my undergrad degree, becase I learned SO much from it and am also so thankful for my closest friends who also held the same degree. I have a BS in Wildlife Biology and a minor in Environmental Science and I am looking to get my Masters in Public Health! A bit of a change, but I have a lot of the science and math courses to help!
This is definitely a post I can relate to. Currently facing a professional juncture in my early career and trying to find the best career path for me!
I guess the hardest part with media- and communication- related majors/jobs is that it’s always a changing field so there’s always new opportunities. Reading this post and the comments have given me some encouragement that I’m eventually going to land on something I truly enjoy doing!
Hi Julie, I follow your blog every day, but rarely comment, so…hi!
I find it quite fascinating that this is the post today as I was literally discussing this exact topic with one of my clients today. I went to college straight out of high school and received my Bachelor of Education in Secondary Education with a minor in English, thinking that it was what I wanted to do. However, after teaching for a couple of years (not even high school, but Kindergarten) I realized, though I absolutely love children, teaching was not at all what I wanted to do, at least, not in that setting. It wasn’t until years later that I discovered an entirely different world that just absolutely resonated with me: the realm of natural health. Now, years later, I am a certified Nutrition Consultant and own a wellness center and I absolutely love it, like LOVE it. I am still teaching people, but it is not in a classroom setting and each person gets a different take, because every person is different. I am trying to guide my two teenage boys to discover their loves so they can make the best and most fitting decisions possible for their lives, but like all of us, it is challenging when you are young.
Not regrets, but wishes. I wish I’d paid more attention in entrepreneurship, taken a few more business classes, had an actual senior year, worked more.
You should get a group ex certification! Mine was like $140. You exercise everyday anyway why not get paid to do it. Plus you could write about the workouts on the blog!
I definitely don’t regret my major, Computer Science, because I like what I do and make enough money doing it 🙂 It’d be easy for me to say I regret not getting my masters, but this was a good decision for two reasons: my sanity and I would have graduation just as the economy tanked and I wouldn’t have the awesome job I do now.
Everyone can say, yeah, I wish I did this or that, but they don’t know that this or that would have made them happier either. I think most people would just be unhappy no matter what.
I DEFINITELY have some regrets about education! While I’m not miserable, I know for a fact after teaching for 4 years that it’s just not something I can or WANT to do much longer. It’s difficult to make a career change because many places see an education degree & think that’s all a person can do!
I am happy with how my life has turned out. I wound up bumming around out of Highschool until I joined the military. They gave me a career that I actually like, and now that I am coming to the end of my military career, I am taking night courses to prep myself. Although with weight loss and learning healthy life changes, I would love to find a way to help others. Just not sure how I want that to work into my life yet.
Funny to feel the same as a highschool student trying to figure out what I want to be ‘when I grow up’ except I am grown up with a career behind me and an open path in front! Exciting and scary!
I finished with a business degree in 2008 and knew pretty soon that I really wanted to Persue a career as a RD. However, having never taken a single science course in highschool I had to start from scratch and take highschool science credits to get me in the program. At 26 I am entering my last year of the programme now and have been doing really well and most importantly I am loving the experience. I am glad I went back to school quickly, I think if I would have waited longer it would have been much harder to go back.
I got my B.S. degree in dietetics and after doing some shadowing and internships I realized I was always more interested in what the nurses were doing compared to the R.Ds, so now I work as a nurses aid until I start nursing school. I don’t really regret my dietetics degree since it will only help with my nursing career but I wish I would have thought about what I wanted to do and explored a variety of options before I started school.
p.s. the dippy eggs look delicious!! yum!
I love the discussions above, but I gotta ask:
How do you make such a yummy looking drippy egg????? Mine never turn out like that.
I love this post! I am so in “limbo” right now! I went to school for social work and currently work in a men’s shelter. I LOVE my job but I don’t know if I can do it for the next 40+ years. I have looked into other fields and cannot narrow it down. I fell in love with fitness and health after graduating but who the heck knows what will happen! It’s such a hard decision to make when you’re 18 years old!
I love this post (your whole blog actually!). I can relate so much to this topic – there are so many days I feel that nagging “what if” feeling and there’s always feel to stay on a safe route and not take financial risks. I think it’s great to read your story on taking that risk and that if you work towards a passion, something can come out it. Life’s too short for regrets!
I regret my education decision alllllll the time. I’m a primary school teacher (5 – 12 year old kids) and I hate it. I’ve been on maternity leave for 5 years now and I have no intention of going back to teaching next year when I have to go back to work. If I could go back in time my career path is the only thing that I would change.
I graduated with a degree with Pre-Med when I knew all along I would be a stay at home mom when I had babies. Now I never plan on going back to medschool when my kids are grown so I still have no clue “what I want to be when I grow up”.
I don’t regret my education. I regret taking out student loans when I didn’t need to. All 3 of the regrets you mentioned are ones I have. but I saw a great quote “Never regret anything because at one point it was exactly what you wanted” I’m planning on getting this tattooed on my wrist for a daily reminder to look forward not backward!
I don’t have any big regrets about my education, but I was one of the lucky ones that changed her mind while she was still in college, and I was able to change my major without getting too far behind. I went from International Studies and Political Science to Kinesiology. No matter when you make the switch, I think finding something you love is so important!
The comments have all been so interesting! I started back at school about 2 years ago to get my BA. I already had AA, but knew once my kids were grown I would want a job that I loved. This meant going back to school. Even though I’m an older student I feel this time was meant for me, I’m a straight A student, something I wouldn’t have been when I was 19. I have regrets that I didn’t finish before kids, it’s so hard with them, but I’m glad I’m doing it anyway.
I actually listened to this same podcast on my run today! I thought all of the speakers were incredibly interesting. Kathryn’s take on happiness really resonated with me when she said “The point isn’t to live with no regrets, it’s to not hate ourselves for ultimately having them….We need to learn to love the flawed imperfect things we create and to forgive ourselves for creating them.”
I am still in college but switched my art major to nutrition and I am so happy with it. Art was always something I was naturally good at but I am passionate about health. 🙂
Having only finished my bachelor’s last year (BA in English concentration Language Arts PK-6, minors in History and Childhood Studies) and set to finish my master’s (Teaching- Elementary) on June 29th of this year (so close!!!!) I am so far both happy, and proud, of my educational decisions. Your post made me curious though as to whether I will feel the same way in the years to come. Hopefully I will have no regrets 10 years or any years from now! Thanks for another great post! 🙂
I have a degree in Communications/PR and I love the company I work for. I don’t think I’d ever leave. But I do wish I had more of a background in health so that if I ever did decide to leave, I’d feel a little more stable. I’m also toying with getting my personal training certification so i could do that on the side to purse my passion that way.
I have a degree in history with a secondary education credential. I know for sure I want to teach but maybe not history. It was a super tough major for me – lots of writing that I had to improve upon in college. It was a great way to challenge myself. I wish I had done biology or nutrition as well.
My education dilemma is my degree is in nutrition, exercise, and health that I finished a year ago but still haven’t been able to find a related job so after being forced into a temp office job do I need to get my masters to get a job or would I just be in the same situation, or does a different career path need to be considered, how long is too long?
Hiiii There! First, I love dippy eggs on top of veggies – I’ll make an awesome salad then use an egg as “protein” dressing!
On the topic of education regret, I think with a lot of situations in life we think about what we could have done different – Education is definitely one of them. I am turning 24 this month and just decided to go back to school. After high school I went to a state university for one semester, moved home to be with my boyfriend turned fiance, went back to school for a year, moved back home, split with my fiance (we’re still best friends though!), starting managing a locally owned hotel and rental properties for 2 1/2 years and now moved 9 hours away from my hometown to be a beach bum 🙂 Well I wish, I work full time here. Sooo I suppose the moral of my story is, maybe I should have taken that year off after high school to figure out what I wanted to do. But I can’t really regret much of the past 6 years of my life because I was just living it! – Taking lessons from every experience and living in that moment. Staying motivated and positive is the most important thing to me. Being patient is ANNOYINGGG but necessary. Life changes and new opportunities are available all the time. I figure what is now does not have to be forever.
That was a bit of a ramble lol But I love your blog Julie!
I have a lot of what if’s running through my head as well! Sometimes I wonder where I would be today if I didn’t study international studies in school. I am like you where I wish my background was in food/nutrition! Great post!