Well, I have been thinking lately how F@cked the JW have left me, in a sense, though I was raised in the "truth". First off, my grandfather was DF'd when I was 12, will never forget as it was the first night I gave a talk on the school. He was DF'd for chewing tabacco. I never talked to him and even rarely saw him until he died when I was 21. Then I had full scholarships to ANY school in this country, some very prestigous. My JW fruitcake step mom never let me go, even the pioneers used to tell me to throw the certificates away as that was rfrom Satan. Never played sports, never went to a prom, never went to parties, never played with the "wordly" kids of the neighborhood, never dated until I was "sure" I wanted to get married. So many lost memories and doors that I NEVER opened and were denied me. No need to plan for a retirement since this system is soooooooo close to the end (though that has changed now).
So, years later my father who used to be aan elder steps down, I quit going also. The good thing is I decied to go back to school, on my dime and a degree though I'm happy with may not have been my first choice years ago. Not only that but now I have to merge into a job market half way through life whereas as a younger man it would have been far easier, with a longer time frame to do it in.
I basically don't give a shit anymore and have looked into the occult, smoked cigars :) and done whatever the hell I feel like now which were big taboos under the JW regime. What pains me the most is the loss of my grandfather so many years ago, and the lost opportunity to really know him, as well as how he may have felt for being shunned. The loss of the future I wanted as well.
So I live for the day and future but the regrets truely haunt me. Anyone else have regrets for what the bastards did?