My ignoring and thwarting of my parents' plans for my life increased as I realized that they were holding me to a standard that they themselves could not live up to.

I've said on innumerable occasions that, had I my adolescence and early adulthood to do over again, I'd have played as hard as I worked.

One really good thing about my 20th high school reunion (though I will grant that four hours is not long enough to get to know everyone's story) is that it's not so much what you did in your youth, but what you bounced back from. If/when I have kids, I'll try to teach them that.