New York Today: New York Today: High School Regrets

Class is back in session for more than a million public school children today.

For high school students, especially, this is a time of self exploration, growing pains, and, for those of us reflecting back, some regrets.

We recently asked our readers to share some of the things they wished they had done differently in high school. Here are a few of their regrets:

“What I wish I could’ve done differently: Listen. Be more aware of the potential signs of depression or bullying. I don’t believe I was an aggressor, but I participated in my fair share of it, so I wish I was more self aware, too.”

— Sachin Arora, 29, Astoria, Queens

“If I had to do high school over again, I’d leave aside the ice cream scooping and McDonalds customer service jobs for work that helped me figure out my longer term career, if at all possible.”

— Suzanne Grossman, 42, Maplewood, N.J.

“I regret not pushing harder for the one thing I loved: dance. If I could go back, I would tell my younger self to have courage, take risks and believe in myself because that’s what it takes out in the world.”

— Annette Herwander, 37, Washington Heights

“I would have wanted to have sex and try pot. Back then, programs like D.A.R.E. and ‘abstinence only’ scared me into obedience.”

— Joey DeGrandis, 32, East Village

“I regret lacking the wisdom to focus on academics, rather than perpetually searching for an elusive party. Of course, the scope of career options available to young women has exponentially changed since then. Perhaps my regret should relate to the decade of my birth.”

— Susannah Sterling, 74, Leesport, Pa.

“I often wish that I had not dropped out. Later in life, I obtained a G.E.D. and a subsequent college degree through night classes at a community college. That was the long and difficult path, studying at night and weekends while married and with a child at home.”

— Billy Ford, 67, Cornwall, N.Y.

“I wish I gave more attention to my brothers and sister. I feel like we missed each other during this time in our lives and now we spend our time trying to make up lost time.”

— Heath Mayhew, 35, Astoria, Queens

“I would have been bolder with my fashion and my ability to just be myself. Something about teenagers being close to each other makes them hypersensitive to judgment. I wish I hadn’t cared!”

— Lindsey Dartsch, 25, Woodside, Queens