Have you ever done something you regretted, something that negatively affected someone else? Maybe it was an act of human selfishness or a lack of complete thought process. Either way, if you recognize you've made a mistake, you should probably apologize—not because it will change the past, but because you value the feelings of the person you hurt more than your pride.

Part of being human is making mistakes. From an early age, we are raised to learn the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Sometimes, however, the line is blurred (not everything is black and white) and we choose to make decisions that may harm us in the future without really considering the outcomes. (I usually defend these decisions by attributing them to "spontaneity.") In the moment, it seems like it was the right thing to do, and then comes the consequence. Suddenly, it doesn't seem so right anymore. The bad news is that you messed up; the good news is that you're not alone, and there's always a way to turn it around and learn from it. No matter how huge and seemingly "unforgivable" the mistake might have been, if you can learn to forgive yourself and others, you will grow into an even stronger and more carefree version of yourself.

While the past may be tainted, the future is not. Keep your eyes on the road ahead of you and stop looking back. Don't lose hope; the best things in life are still to come. Put one foot in front of the other and don't stop moving forward. Let go of whatever is holding you back, whatever is grabbing at your ankles and preventing you from being exactly where you want to be. Don't be so hard on yourself—it's OK to mess up sometimes. Our faults don't define us, but they do shape us into better people. They teach us sensitivity for the thoughts and feelings of others. They teach us patience and forgiveness, because once you've done wrong, you know how it feels to be so desperate to be forgiven—to crave that inner peace of knowing that the person you wronged no longer holds your mistake against you.

Another very important thing about forgiveness is that it doesn't necessarily mean forgetting. Forgiving someone means you are no longer holding on to the negative feelings you felt toward this person after they hurt you. Forgiving someone means accepting and making peace with the past that cannot be altered. It means letting go of that bitterness and replacing it with compassion. It means allowing the lessons you've learned to launch you into an exciting new chapter of your life, leaving the frustration and sadness behind.

As humans, we overthink; we let things consume us. Emotions get the best of us at times and we let anger or malice take control when there should be patience instead. Spite and revenge become solutions to problems instead of just simply talking about it. There should be respect for whoever's involved, not discrimination toward whoever made the bigger mistake. At the end of the day, we are all flawed, and if you can swallow your pride enough to recognize and apologize for your flaw, you deserve to be forgiven; just don't make the same mistake twice.