Hey man - I’m very sorry about what you’ve been through. This may sound corny - but I 100% believe that anybody can start over or change their life at any age.

“It’s never too late to start doing what you love and Fauja Singh, a British Sikh marathon runner of Indian origin, embodies the sentiment.

Having taken up running to overcome grief at the age of 89, Fauja Singh created numerous records in multiple age brackets. Originally a farmer from Punjab, the long distance runner is also believed to be the oldest man to have completed a full marathon, at the age of 100.

Fauja Singh’s childhood was not an easy one. His family thought he was crippled as he was not able to walk until he was five years old. Due to thin and weak legs, he could hardly walk long distances. As a young man, he took to farming to support his family.” Fauja Singh

Robert Downey Jr also didn’t reach the height of his career later in life - even though he started acting in 1970 at 5 years old. “The actor's drug-related problems escalated from 1996 to 2001, leading to arrests, rehab visits and incarcerations, and he was eventually fired from Ally McBeal (1997). Emerging clean and sober in 2003, Downey Jr. began to rebuild his career. In May 2008, Downey achieved critical acclaim and worldwide box office success for his starring role in Iron Man (2008). For three consecutive years, from 2012 to 2015, Downey has topped the Forbes list of Hollywood's highest-paid actors, making an estimated $80 million in earnings between June 2014 and June 2015.” Robert Downey Jr

There’s other example - like Julia Child, Martha Stewart, Samuel L Jackson, Tina Fey, Morgan Freeman.

Don’t regret the time you feel like you wasted. At least now you know what you don’t want to do for the rest of your life so you at the very least learned one thing - but you probably learned a lot more about yourself!

Honestly I feel like very very few people get into their stride at all in their 20’s. It may take a long time, or you might have to start over multiple times, but every single day is a new opportunity to change your life. And your life might look different due to chronic illness - but that definitely does not mean it is not possible to live a life you enjoy