We all have different regrets in life, big and small. These regrets can impact your life, and looking back on them can be daunting.  We decided to explore the different regrets of students and teachers at Kalani.

We first looked into the regrets of Kalani students by asking: “What is your biggest regret?”

Answers varied in severity. One student regretted forgetting their school books at home, while others had more personal regrets. Many of our findings show that students regret taking AP classes due to the large amount of effort needed to pass the class. Aside from academic regrets, some students also have regrets coming from their social lives.

“My biggest regret is spending too much time on my past relationships,” Jessica White (11) said. 

A new study by Columbia University professor Shai Davidai and Cornell University psychologist Tom Gilovich shows that regrets can control your mood and the way you think and can make you miserable. The study is based on how people deal with regret, mainly their regret about becoming their ideal selves. As a result, people who don’t resolve their problems tend to regret the choices they made in the past.

We also asked a teacher about their regrets and how these regrets affected them.

Kalani English teacher Angela Issacson shared her regret about wasting time in college by changing majors too many times. 

“I think about where I could be in my life if I had different choices, especially when I was in my 20s,” Angela Issacon said. “I would have probably like 20 years of teaching undergrad instead of just starting out.”

Regardless of the regret, they have a way of improving someone’s life, letting them learn from their mistakes, so they don’t repeat them again. 

“I don’t regret my path; I just regret wasting time in college,” Ms. Issacson said.

Mrs. Sumikawa, the freshman counselor, has had plenty of experience helping students handle regret.

“It’s not a matter of me giving advice,” Mrs. Sumikawa shared. “It’s a matter of the counselors listening and letting the student talk it out because the answer is really inside the student.”

All in all, regret can be a tool for improvement or a weapon of self-destruction. But what matters most is how we deal with regret and whether we can find the people that can help us manage it.