Strangers reveal their biggest regrets in moving photography project

Answers ranged from not spending enough time with deceased parents to smoking weed

Complete strangers have revealed their deepest regrets in a moving photography project.

Alecsandra Raluca Dragoi, a Romanian photographer based in London, toured cities asking passers-by of all ages what their biggest regret in life was.

She said many people refused, saying the question was too personal, but others gave responses ranging from heart-rending to tongue-in-cheek.

One man said “shagging Lee’s mum” was his biggest regret, while a person hiding their face with a poster mysteriously said it was “what I did last night”.

Alecsandra Raluca Dragoi's project drew surprising responses

“Not being with my father when he died 15 years ago,” was another man’s answer and a father pictured with his young son held a sign saying: “Developing an addiction to alcohol.”

Alecsandra said she believes that sharing regrets with someone, even a stranger, can release a “black stain on the soul”.

“I do not trust in people who say that they do not have regrets,” she added. “In my opinion there is a difference between not having regrets and not thinking about them.

“Not thinking about regrets is better, because what you have done is in the past.”

To explain her stance, she offered the saying: “If we spend our time with regrets over yesterday, and worries over what might happen tomorrow, we have no today in which to live”.

Alecsandra is continuing the project by inviting people to send her photos of themselves on social media.