Back in high school, I had a very close friend of about eight years. I grew apart from this friend, however, for she got strongly involved in a relationship with a boy, and she suddenly did not have much time for me. We basically went our separate ways. A few months ago, this friend, now three years into our separate college careers, reached out to me once more. When I received her text, I remembered how hurt I felt, how abandoned I felt when she ditched me so suddenly a few years ago. Then, I realized I could either ignore the message and miss out on rekindling a bond that once burned so brightly, or I could respond, maybe even make plans to meet up with her and catch up. I chose to forgive her, and have not for a second regretted that decision, as we are now better friends than ever.

If there is one thing I am certain about in this life, it is that people change. People adapt, people move, people grow, people simply change. Our world is ever-changing, so we must adjust ourselves accordingly. So why then do we tend to hold people to standards we subconsciously set for them years and years ago, when they were arguably completely different people?

Change is not a bad thing. Change is an opportunity for us to grow as people. If nothing ever changed, just imagine how boring and stagnant this life would be. We'd never experience new things, and we'd never improve as human beings.

I like to think about how children would react in these types of situations. Say you're a small child, out at recess and playing in the sandbox with your favorite toy car. Say your best friend comes along and accidentally breaks said toy car. Would you forgive them? Of course, because obviously your best friend means more to you than your favorite toy car. Now say that you're an adult and let your best friend borrow your car, and they accidentally rear-end someone, totaling your car. Would you forgive them? No? Why? Because the stakes are higher now? Think about how much that favorite toy of yours meant to you when you were young. Are the stakes really that much higher now? Things can be replaced. People, friends, family, on the other hand, cannot. It's just money.

That all being said, I believe that it is always important to forgive others. We should never stop dishing out forgiveness. I know this isn't always easy, especially when the ones close to us hurt us, but I am confident that we can all find it in our hearts to give out these second chances. That's how God made us.

I have been giving a lot of thought to the idea of second chances lately. I feel that I am in such a strange time in my life currently; not really a child anymore, but not quite yet a full adult. That being said, I can honestly say that thus far, this era of my life has taught me more than any of my 18 years prior to this. All in all, I believe that if we all found it in our hearts to forgive others, to hand out second chances more readily, the world would be a much better, kinder place to be. Who's with me?