As it turned out, I made great grades when I finally went to law school and, at 34 when I became a lawyer, I was a better prepared, more mature, happier lawyer than I would have been ten years earlier. I married when I was 26 and divorced 8 years later. As it turned out, I never did have children - at least not until my late 40's when I married and, as part of the bargain, got two wonderful daughters. Funny how things turn out in the long run. Our choices usually don't let us to go back and start over.
Choices are permanent, and they lead to more choices, which are also permanent.
We each need a strong inner compass to ensure we make the right choices. Wrong choices lead to bad results. As a judge, I have seen many people who have made the wrong choices in life. More often than not, they have inner compasses that seem to spin around as if there is not a North Pole. When you face a big choice, you may not face it alone but the decision is yours alone.