# Je Ne Regrette Rien

_Je ne regrette rien._ _I regret nothing._ We were talking about this
last Sunday night. I do regret lying to parents or teachers on specific
occasions perhaps, and I regret taking this or that when I wasn’t
supposed to, but I don’t regret any potentially life-changing action
taken or not taken. I don’t regret going to the school I did, the
subjects I took, the university I went to, or the degrees I did there. I
don’t wish I studied more or studied less; or travelled more or
travelled less.

I think I should have regrets. (One of the implications of having no
regrets is that, if given the chance, you’d live your life again in
exactly the same way—and this cannot be right!) So, where are they?
There’s a few possibilities: (1) I’m not yet old enough to be able to
figure out what my regrets should be (i.e. not enough perspective); (2)
I don’t take a chance on things I _might_ regret; (3) I’m in denial.

There’s a good chance these are all true. Particularly (2): I do [_fear_
regret](/lately/2003-03-03_leunig.html), and perhaps I do make the easy,
safe life choices. Well, I guess we’ll see.