I've contemplated, ruminated and deliberated over this thread. You see, what has gone before has lead to where I am now and this place (psychologically speaking) is a very good place to be.
In times past when I may not have been so philosophical, I would have said my biggest mistake was not taking the opportunities to leave my parent's home and go to live with my grand parents on any of the half-dozen times they asked me to.
The decision not to take them up on their wonderful offers to escape that caustic environment was based on one factor only; I truly believed at that time that, had I left, the next target in the household would have been one of my younger sisters, the oldest of which was seven years my junior.
I used to wonder how much better a person I might have been or how less scarred mentally I would have been but now, I take pride that, at a young age, I had the presence of mind to think of others, regardless of whether or not my assessment of the situation was right or wrong and in spite of the harm I knew would continue to come my way.
Nowadays, I think all roads lead to here and regardless of the slips and falls along the way, I no longer view them as regretful mistakes, only signposts along the way that mark the temporary deviation from life's path to the future.
I guess what I am trying to say is this; whether it be a minor or a major mistake, what's the difference? To try and rank them can only lead to regret and regrets have a way of indelibly marking the soul.
Apologies if this is not what was expected for this thread or if it is inappropriate in any way.