Right now I guess that some would say that age wise I’m starting to get up in years. :o I was just sitting here thinking about all the things in my life that made me happy, and I think that so far some of the most fun and influential years of my life were between the age of 15 to 21. Every since then it seems like things have been slowly turning down hill (just a little). If I could turn the hands of time back just for a little while, I would love to go back to my late teen / early 20 years and
have a blast re-living all the fun I had with all the friends I had back then that are now long gone. For those “older” members here, what part of your life was the most influential and if given the chance, what part of your life would you like to re-live 
Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to do my teen years over; they sucked! The very best point in my life was probably about 4 years ago; my oldest daughter hadn’t lost her mind yet (seriously, she’s bipolar, and we have a hell of a time dealing with her), and hubby was making over $70,000 a year; now, I don’t mean to give the impression that I’m all about money, cuz I’m not. But for the past couple of years, things have been stress-inducingly tight, and I’m getting kind of tired of it.
But, other than the money, and the things with my oldest, I’m very happy right now. We still have our modest little home, my husband is great, my 13 year old is like a model of what everyone wants their daughter to be, my 4 year old daughter is the light of my life, and I have the SDMB, which I did not have 4 years ago.
Thanks for asking! It made me really think about all the things I have.
NOT ME!!
My Teen years were a nightmare!! :eek:
Endless bullying, regular beatings, family re-locating every couple of years, so no roots. And no friends.
The only way I’d re-do my teen years, is if I got to do it in Archie’s home town of Riverdale. 
I liked being a teenager, but I also complicated my adult life through some of the choices I made. If I could just re-do the fun stuff, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
However, life now is good, too. I’m mostly pretty happy with the way things turned out.
I wouldn’t mind having my teenage body back, but I wouldn’t want to go through all that stupidity again (as if I’m anywhere near perfect now).
Moderator’s Note: This seems more suited to IMHO, so off it goes.
And when I was a teenager, I never got to move threads.
Teen years - no thanks
Late 20’s to mid 30’s - I’ll swap those for the 50’s any day.
Well Said Mangetout…
No way in hell. If I had to pick the perfect age, for me it was from about 24-32. As I sit here on my 39th birthday, I can say those were the best times of my life. Physically and mentally. I was in better shape at 24 than when I was a teen and didn’t take care of myself that well (the whole invincibility thing), and my decisions were much better once I reached my mid-20s.
I couldn’t wait to grow up and get out of my teen years. Once, a high school teacher told me that “these are the best years of your life, so enjoy them.”
And then I cried for the rest of the day. It was the most depressing thought any one every shared with me. I think the teacher was trying to be positive in some way.
Then another teacher saw how upset I was and said, “Look, she’s miserable and full of beans. It gets better, I promise.”
And she was right.
What strikes me most about my teenage years is the feeling of constant frustration: I’m not an idiot, I can make sound decisions for myself, yet everyone treats teenagers like children. I hated it.
“While you live in my house, you’ll live by my rules.” Well, that’s fine but your rules are stupid. Now that I live in my house, I live by my rules, which make much more sense to me. When I speak about something I know a lot about, people listen and sometimes even take action on my recommendations. Sometimes I command respect, I can go to bed any time I want to, and if I feel like eating ice cream for dinner, nobody’s going to stop me.
And I’m not going to get grounded if I fail to do the dishes.
I’m sorry, but screw those teenage years. Even my prom sucked. (The DJs didn’t show up until 1/2 hour before the prom was over, the food was cold and not very good and I didn’t have a really hot date – I just went with a friend.) Whatever fun or great experiences you perceived as a teenager, I think you perceived it that way because you didn’t have anything else to compare it to. I can think of so many more fun things to do than anything I did as a teenager.
Of course, our definition of “fun” changes as we grow up. Anyway, I’d rather gnaw my own foot off than re-live my teenage years.
I can identify with the OP.
There’s a certain euphoria that comes along with that age group that you can remember, but never actually get back. It’s the time when nothing else is important but social ties. Nothing else, like jobs, medical problems, bills, and an overall grip on reality have set in at that point.
I was walking through the store the other day and a familiar scent must’ve hit me and I remembered what it was like to be infatuated with a girl as a teenager and how now it’s different. The best you can get now is the image or fantasy of that girl to be on your bench, waiting for that important moment when your wife says “not tonight”.
As an adult you really can’t get away with near the amount of nonsense as you can with a kid. When you’re a kid you don’t want to hang around grownups so you find a place to congregate and just “hang out” there. Adults do that to a point, but never to the same degree. On really nice nights, when it’s late, sometimes I want to go to the playground with a six-pack of beer and just sit there and look up at the stars. I’d probably get arrested for having a open container of alcohol though.
Mmm… being a teenager was okay, but to really do it right, I’d have to go back to the mind I had then, being the person I was then, knowing nothing of what I know now.
I mean, think about it: I sure wouldn’t drive drunk, and I’d rag on these two guys I knew mercilessly to keep THEM from driving drunk, because they got themselves killed doing it during my senior year.
Being a teener was fun, but I wouldn’t want to do it, knowing what I know now. I’d be entirely too aware of what a chump I’d been. I mean, I work with teenagers now, and while they’re wonderful, interesting people, they can also be incredibly stupid, stubborn, and even vicious.
I know I was, on occasion.
Ideally, I’d go back to being about 22, with the mind I have now. Admittedly, I’d have to put up with decades of reruns and no internet for a while, but I think it’d be worth it to buy Microsoft at 12.5, you know? Oh, yeah, and having a full head of hair, and chasing older women… 
I’d rather forget the whole 14-20 period, pretty darn miserable. Definitely picked up after that. I’d be happy to go back to my 20s though. For a couple of years I kept diaries and the things are packed. Some sort of noteworthy event(s) just about every day (apart from the time when I was working on a ship).
Not that I’m not happy with my current lot, but if I kept a diary now it would look like Dilbert’s:
Day1: Went to Work, Ate Dinner, Watched TV, Slept.
Day2: See day 1
NOT ME!
Being a teenager sucked butt.
There is nothing more pathetic than an insecure, moneyless and sex less teenager. No thanks.
Maybe in another ten years.
Really, my teenage years weren’t horrible. My parents made enough money that we weren’t worrying about things, I didn’t have to work (and I LIKED school), and by age 13, most of the teasing was over. I had college to look forward to for a lot of it, and lots of extra-curricular activities that you really can’t DO once you leave school (like Scholastic Bowl).
On the other hand, I don’t know that I could deal with the lack of independence compared to what I have now. Yeah, now I have to work, and pay for my own stuff, and clean up my own messes, and I’m not going to say I particularly enjoy doing any of those things. In addition to those things, however, I can stay up however late I want, eat whatever I want, go on the computer whenever I want, buy whatever I want (and can afford), hang out with whomever I want, etc. etc. And while I’m not exactly going hog-wild and staying out till 4 AM and eating nothing but ice cream, I am exercising these newfound rights.
If I were to be a teenager again, I’d have a curfew. And bedtime. And no car for much of it, which means no job, which means not getting to buy some of the things I want. I’d have time limits on my computer, for part of it a parentally-controlled AOL account, chores that I HAD to do at a SPECIFIC time every week, etc. And while none of those things were exactly heavy burdens to bear at the time, I don’t know that I could go back to doing them now without ripping someone’s head off.
Plus, if I were a teenager again, I’d be back to having my romantic prospects limited to one guy online who lived 350 miles away. And I’d be way too young to date my current SO (even if he went back the same number of years; when I was 13, he’d’ve been 19, which is kinda wrongish). So I really, really don’t know.
I wouldn’t want to be a teenager again. My favorite decade was probably my 30’s.
To look back and say that your best years are in your past must be one of the saddest admissions you can make.
I’m not in the same effortless physical condition I was in at 18, and on some days I miss having hair, but I can honestly say that I have a better life, with more fun, now than I did in my thirties, twenties and teens. I see no reason why my fifties won’t be better than my forties have been so far.
There are certain portions of my teenage years that were wonderful, but I would never, ever, ever, wwant to go back.
My last So I think was obsessed with his. Seemed to be that he thought of them as his “glory days” or some such junk.
God, no. You couldn’t pay me enough to relive those years. Or even my childhood.
I firmly believe that 98.9% of people who would be willing are forgetting just how horrible it was being a non-adult.
I’d consider redoing college - those were some good years - but all in all, I’m happy with my life. I’d like to think that things will just keep getting better!