I'm almost 21. And if you're 14, 15, 16, or 17… please watch this.

@journalwithace

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SoundTikTok sound · original sound - journalwithace

Why it worked

The video succeeds by leveraging raw, vulnerable storytelling that addresses a universal human fear—the regret of unresolved conflict before a sudden loss—which creates an immediate, high-stakes emotional connection with the viewer.

Summary

The creator shares a deeply personal story about the sudden loss of a loved one following an argument, using it as a cautionary tale to encourage viewers to express love and appreciation to those around them. He emphasizes the importance of balancing personal goals with meaningful relationships and living in the present.

Structure

1Introduction of the creator's life regret
2Story of a final, unresolved argument with a loved one
3The sudden passing of that loved one
4Reflection on the importance of expressing love and gratitude
5Advice to prioritize relationships over work and ambition
6Final call to action to reach out to loved ones

On-screen text

I'm almost 21. And if you're 14, 15, 16, 17, I mean, the age doesn't even matter. I will share with you my life's biggest regret so you can avoid it. To live a life that I didn't get to live in my teenage years. I wanna start by saying There's no dopamine, no A.I. And no script. Just a message that might just change your life. I wanna start by saying what is your biggest regret? I mean, if you step back right now, can you name your biggest regret off the top of your head? Maybe you don't. Maybe it's lust, maybe it's not shooting your shot sooner. But for me, I think I know mine. My biggest regret is not saying three words sooner. I love you. For context and a backstory, I had someone who's family, someone I love dearly, someone that is my best friend, most importantly, that I spoke to on a day to day basis every single day. But one day we had an argument. One day we had an argument that just didn't sit well and we ended the conversation off not showing any appreciation, any gratitude. The following day, the person that I love the dearest, the person that I shared so many lives, experiences, joys and memories with, had passed away. Now, the thing was, is that I'll never know their final words. I'll never know what their thought process was. But I will know is that My final words to them were unspoken. My final words were not acts of love. I feel bad. As I should. But I recognise that in the process of it all they could have been thinking about the last conversation that we had. It could have replayed through their head. Something could have changed the trajectory of their timeline and their life. But instead, three words weren't said. Any appreciation It would have I mean, a laugh of nervousness, just because of the lingering regret and sorrow and sadness, but three words I could have said, I love you. Thank you. And some type of appreciation before they were gone. My message to you is appreciate the people that you love while they're still here. I can't do anything about the past. I can't do anything about what I once said. And even if it wasn't the most significant argument, even if it wasn't something derogatory, even if it wasn't something vulgar said, my last words weren't something that should have been stuck with. It was just pure anger, resentment. And even if. Even though nothing terrible was said, nothing bad was said, even if there's no bad blood, I still feel guilty for the fact that I didn't show my gratitude, since that's all about the things in me. And sometimes in life, when you lose love, it feels like you lose everything that you'd ever live for. I can never go back. In the past and change what is said, what is done. But I can change how I lead with intentions going forward. My advice to you, if you are the ages of 14, 15, 16, 17, I mean, the age does even matter, is to show an act of love, gratitude, and appreciation every single day. For me, that day when the news broke, when tragedy struck, you don't even want to believe it's real. For grief is inevitable. Suffering is inevitable in this lifetime. But no one prepares you for the day, no one, no amount of training, no amount of mental fortitude, will prepare you for the day that tragedy strikes. We'll lose our grandparents, we'll lose people around us randomly, at a certain day in our lives, we'll lose our parents, and someday we will go as well. It's not to fear death, but it's to live a life worth living while people are still here. You're able to make memories and make the most out of life. Don't be so caught up in dreams, aspiration, and goals that you forget that your life is meant to be enjoyed as well. When you're in your youth years and your younger years, you can get blindsided by the amount of stuff that you do and get caught up in trying to make as much money as possible. And to make it out, to retire your parents and I just want to remind you to balance life, appreciation, making Memories and goals as it was something that I had no control over. I had no control over me working so hard in the temporary moment until I realised I could have changed those things. I might be tripping up my words right now, but I work so hard, I let moments pass me by that I forget that I had today and tomorrow isn't promised. Take a step back and zoom out for things and how they truly are. I know you want to be successful, I know you want to be ambitious, and there's nothing wrong with that. I want you to strive and work as hard as possible to honour people that you love, to honour your own life, to respect yourself. But I don't want you to lose sight of what truly matters the most in this life. After you've achieved everything that you've ever wanted to be done, what is there to be left? I mean, what is there left to be said and done? Love is all we have. Love is all we have in this lifetime. And I just want to remind you to reach out and appreciate somebody that means a lot to you. I feel bad. As I should. But most importantly, it's a lesson to be learned. And I want you to avoid the mistake I made of not showing a appreciation and gratitude while I had it. And most importantly, when I look back, I think To myself. I could have took one day off of work and spent time with this person. I could have took 15 minutes out of my day to text and call them. It didn't take much, but yet I kept saving it as if I had tomorrow, as if I had next week, as if I had next month. They thought they had plans for tomorrow for a week, a whole lifetime. They had goals ahead of them that they didn't get to fulfill. We have one human experience in this lifetime. Don't let it go to waste by scrolling, by allowing yourself to fall in the shadow of your own life. This is your reminder to show love and appreciation while you still have it. You can't do anything about the past. You can't do anything about what you once said or what you once done. But you can't change how you lead with the intentions going forward. You can lead by example. You can do everything and show love and a great place to start is just to say, I love you. It might seem weird to reach out to an old friend to someone that means a lot to you, to tell them that you care about them. Cause you know it might be taken the wrong way but I just wanna remind you, when we lose love, it feels like we lose everything that we'd ever live for. The point of this message is To show love. Show love for the people that deserve it most, the people that care about you the most. Because their presence will affect you as a lot. A lot more than you realise. Because as humans, in our human air, we will never truly appreciate something that we have until we lose that. We will never appreciate the blessings around us until they strip us of our life's biggest blessings. We'll never appreciate the people that we love around us until they're gone. My advice to you is don't let any day. Life is too short for it to pass us by. And do not say, I love you. Do not show love to compliment someone. To. To build meaningful relationships and to cultivate positive relationships. Be the change that you want to see. Be full of love because it's in you. And even if people hurt you, forgive them. Not because they deserve it but because peace starts within you. You deserve the peace of your own life. And to accept things for how they truly are, you have to love every experience that made you. If you made it this far, thank you. But most importantly, learn from my mistakes. Thank you.

Original caption

I’m Almost 21. If you’re 14, 15, 16, or 17… please watch this.

More from @journalwithace

More breakout videos from this creator.

Transcript

I'm almost 21. And if you're 14, 15, 16, or 17… please watch this. I mean, the age doesn't even matter. I will share with you my life's biggest regret so you can avoid it. To live a life that I didn't get to live in my teenage years. I wanna start by saying There's no dopamine, no A.I. And no script. Just a message that might just change your life. I wanna start by saying what is your biggest regret? I mean, if you step back right now, can you name your biggest regret off the top of your head? Maybe you don't. Maybe it's lust, maybe it's not shooting your shot sooner. But for me, I think I know mine. My biggest regret is not saying three words sooner. I love you. For context and a backstory, I had someone who's family, someone I love dearly, someone that is my best friend, most importantly, that I spoke to on a day to day basis every single day. But one day we had an argument. One day we had an argument that just didn't sit well and we ended the conversation off not showing any appreciation, any gratitude. The following day, the person that I love the dearest, the person that I shared so many lives, experiences, joys and memories with, had passed away. Now, the thing was, is that I'll never know their final words. I'll never know what their thought process was. But I will know is that My final words to them were unspoken. My final words were not acts of love. I feel bad. As I should. But I recognise that in the process of it all they could have been thinking about the last conversation that we had. It could have replayed through their head. Something could have changed the trajectory of their timeline and their life. But instead, three words weren't said. Any appreciation It would have I mean, a laugh of nervousness, just because of the lingering regret and sorrow and sadness, but three words I could have said, I love you. Thank you. And some type of appreciation before they were gone. My message to you is appreciate the people that you love while they're still here. I can't do anything about the past. I can't do anything about what I once said. And even if it wasn't the most significant argument, even if it wasn't something derogatory, even if it wasn't something vulgar said, my last words weren't something that should have been stuck with. It was just pure anger, resentment. And even if. Even though nothing terrible was said, nothing bad was said, even if there's no bad blood, I still feel guilty for the fact that I didn't show my gratitude, since that's all about the things in me. And sometimes in life, when you lose love, it feels like you lose everything that you'd ever live for. I can never go back. In the past and change what is said, what is done. But I can change how I lead with intentions going forward. My advice to you, if you are the ages of 14, 15, 16, 17, I mean, the age does even matter, is to show an act of love, gratitude, and appreciation every single day. For me, that day when the news broke, when tragedy struck, you don't even want to believe it's real. For grief is inevitable. Suffering is inevitable in this lifetime. But no one prepares you for the day, no one, no amount of training, no amount of mental fortitude, will prepare you for the day that tragedy strikes. We'll lose our grandparents, we'll lose people around us randomly, at a certain day in our lives, we'll lose our parents, and someday we will go as well. It's not to fear death, but it's to live a life worth living while people are still here. You're able to make memories and make the most out of life. Don't be so caught up in dreams, aspiration, and goals that you forget that your life is meant to be enjoyed as well. When you're in your youth years and your younger years, you can get blindsided by the amount of stuff that you do and get caught up in trying to make as much money as possible. And to make it out, to retire your parents and I just want to remind you to balance life, appreciation, making Memories and goals as it was something that I had no control over. I had no control over me working so hard in the temporary moment until I realised I could have changed those things. I might be tripping up my words right now, but I work so hard, I let moments pass me by that I forget that I had today and tomorrow isn't promised. Take a step back and zoom out for things and how they truly are. I know you want to be successful, I know you want to be ambitious, and there's nothing wrong with that. I want you to strive and work as hard as possible to honour people that you love, to honour your own life, to respect yourself. But I don't want you to lose sight of what truly matters the most in this life. After you've achieved everything that you've ever wanted to be done, what is there to be left? I mean, what is there left to be said and done? Love is all we have. Love is all we have in this lifetime. And I just want to remind you to reach out and appreciate somebody that means a lot to you. I feel bad. As I should. But most importantly, it's a lesson to be learned. And I want you to avoid the mistake I made of not showing a appreciation and gratitude while I had it. And most importantly, when I look back, I think To myself. I could have took one day off of work and spent time with this person. I could have took 15 minutes out of my day to text and call them. It didn't take much, but yet I kept saving it as if I had tomorrow, as if I had next week, as if I had next month. They thought they had plans for tomorrow for a week, a whole lifetime. They had goals ahead of them that they didn't get to fulfill. We have one human experience in this lifetime. Don't let it go to waste by scrolling, by allowing yourself to fall in the shadow of your own life. This is your reminder to show love and appreciation while you still have it. You can't do anything about the past. You can't do anything about what you once said or what you once done. But you can't change how you lead with the intentions going forward. You can lead by example. You can do everything and show love and a great place to start is just to say, I love you. It might seem weird to reach out to an old friend to someone that means a lot to you, to tell them that you care about them. Cause you know it might be taken the wrong way but I just wanna remind you, when we lose love, it feels like we lose everything that we'd ever live for. The point of this message is To show love. Show love for the people that deserve it most, the people that care about you the most. Because their presence will affect you as a lot. A lot more than you realise. Because as humans, in our human air, we will never truly appreciate something that we have until we lose that. We will never appreciate the blessings around us until they strip us of our life's biggest blessings. We'll never appreciate the people that we love around us until they're gone. My advice to you is don't let any day. Life is too short for it to pass us by. And do not say, I love you. Do not show love to compliment someone. To. To build meaningful relationships and to cultivate positive relationships. Be the change that you want to see. Be full of love because it's in you. And even if people hurt you, forgive them. Not because they deserve it but because peace starts within you. You deserve the peace of your own life. And to accept things for how they truly are, you have to love every experience that made you. If you made it this far, thank you. But most importantly, learn from my mistakes. Thank you.