5 Things.

Katie tagged me for this, but I'm going to do it a little differently and just list regrets/non regrets rather than listing exactly five of each:

Things I Regret
That I have let fear hold me back in various areas. For example, in college, I never auditioned for any plays because I felt so overwhelmed by the near-professionalism of the students I saw in the Theater Dept. I didn't even know how to prepare for these kinds of auditions, and those kids seemed to have been doing it for all of their lives. I didn't take any film courses because I felt really embarrassed about admitting that I needed help with some of the basics - like, I didn't really know what to DO, and the people who took those courses intimidated me. I also regret that it took me until I was in my late thirties to be brave enough to perform at coffee houses. I do regret that my move to the midwest has meant that I only see my family a few times a year. (On the other hand, they've all rooted themselves on the east coast, and they could always move here if they wanted to...)

Things I Don't Regret
That I kept plugging away at this academic thing and didn't stop applying for jobs, even though I also don't regret that I simultaneously ventured into more creative work when it seemed that a teaching gig might be out of reach. I don't regret at all, even for a second, moving here to take the job I have currently, which I love. I don't regret having a kid.

Tagging: Ren, Green, and all the lurkers who email me that they read my blog but who don't comment.