I didn't settle in my new city until my late-20s. Didn't meet my wife until we were both 30 — married several years after that. I turn 40 in 2022... all this is to say, the further you inch into life, the more you realize past things, people, and experiences are never really wasted. Life is a scaffold, and our history makes it rich. I'm afraid that's not even something you can really comprehend in your 20s. You don't have "unlimited time," but the road gets really good the farther you drive it.