WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST REGRET?

What is your biggest regret?

I hate the word regret. Don't you?

It has such a negative connotation. The whole idea of looking back on your past and wishing things had turned out differently is just so unhealthy in my opinion.

Until someone invents a legitimate time machine I say we throw the word regret right out the damn window. What do y'all think?

Easier said than done right?

I know. My biggest problem used to be looking back on my past and wishing I had not made the mistakes I had made. It was what I like to call my "fatal flaw."

The past ate at me constantly. That flaw is long gone now, and to be completely honest, I don't really know how I kicked it. I wish I could give some grand advice about how I was finally able to stop looking at my past and wishing things had turned out differently, but I can't!

I think one day I just thought about how I literally cannot go back and erase the things I had done and the decisions I had made. All I can do now try my very best not to make those mistakes again.

Time was also a huge factor. You know when they say, "time heals all wounds?" Yeah, they aren't shitting you with that statement. It really does heal everything.

As time has gone on I've grown up a lot.

Shocking. I know.

But the more mature we get the more we realize that the past is the past. I look back at the things I did my freshman year of college and literally laugh out loud. Like okay 1) my eyebrows were awful, why did no one tell me? 2) Self worth and respect were two things I clearly did not value. And 3) I never branched out of my comfort zone!

I think about who I was then and who I am today and smile. Those mistakes made me Leah. So while I maybe regret flirting with that one guy, or drawing on my eyebrows to look like caterpillars, or even quitting the beloved dance team... I still smile about those decisions because I would not be where I am now if it weren't for my choices.

I will say this though y'all... The "I wish I HAD NOT done that" regret is much easier to get over than the "I wish I HAD done that" regret.

Think about it... The things we did do that we regret are things we can learn from. The things we did not do are things we look back on and say "what if?"

I honestly pride myself in having none of those regrets.

I've always been the type of person who just goes for it. I need a lot of convincing and support, but I always end up just doing what my gut tells me.

For example, I lived in Cincinnati a long time. Not too long, because I met my favorite people in my last few months of living there, but a long time nonetheless. 

I wanted to get out, but I thought that I might as well stick it out for another full year. I had two jobs and a lot of obligations.

To be completely candid with you though, I was miserable. I was constantly crying, constantly visiting my family, constantly dreading each day... Sounds morbid but I really was very sad in that city. Y'all, I had no intention of leaving until my cousin Jeff told me that I would be insane if I didn't get out immediately.

So... I started applying for internships in Atlanta.

I chose Atlanta because it is a big city with lots of opportunities. It is also a good middle ground from both my dad, who lives in Auburn, and my mom, who lives in Knoxville. Turner Broadcasting came up on good ole LinkedIn so I filled out an application for every single position they were offering. I had no thoughts that I would actually land one, I just figured that if I was so sad in one spot that I might as well try to change it. Plus Jeff deemed me insane for wanting to stay so I decided to rid that title.

I got lots of emails back from CNN, but then I got in contact with one of the Executive Producers for Turner Sports. We had a nice little phone interview and from there it was the waiting game.

And then one glorious day I met Mr. Charles Barkley. He is an Auburn alum so as you can all rightfully assume, he knows my father.

I introduced myself to this funny man who had tons of people surrounding him. He said, "You're the one who wants the internship!" I cried. He already knew about me y'all.

What was once an idea, a dream really, had become a reality.

Now I find myself working for people like Shaquille O'Neal, Reggie Miller, Ernie Johnson, Grant Hill... I mean the greats. I see how NBATV and TNT Inside the NBA are produced. My mind is blown when I get to show rookies around the studio or meet great coaches like Kevin McHale and talk basketball with him. I am living a dream.

I look back and imagine if I had decided to stay in Cincinnati. Ohh what a mistake. What a regret that would have been. 

My point here, friends, is to never shoot down an opportunity that comes your way. Never envision a dream and decide it's too big. Never look at your life feeling unsatisfied and do nothing about it. 

Never have a regret that embodies you NOT doing something.

So, what's my biggest regret?

Well I don't have one. But just because I don't have a regret that haunts me in my sleep does not mean I have my shit together.

Because I don't.

I'm a mess actually.

But I love it. I love not having everything figured out. Sometimes picking up and moving to a totally different city comes with a lot of downfalls. I do get lonely and I do get stressed and I do get sad, but that is okay!

I have an amazing opportunity in the palm of my hands because

I WENT FOR IT. NO RAGRETS. NOT EVEN A SINGLE LETTER.