I’ll be honest, I don’t remember much from my childhood. My mom tells me stories, and often, I have no clue what she’s talking about it. However, there are a select few memories that are crystal clear for me.

I remember when my sister pushed me down the stairs because we were reenacting that scene from "The Lion King" where Scar kills Mufasa. I remember getting 'married' on the kindergarten playground and tying a little grass ring on a boy’s finger. He gave me a blue Ring Pop from the treasure chest; all the other girls were quite jealous. I also remember how upset my best friend got that this boy got playground married to me and not her.

I guess kindergarten was a memorable time for me, because it was also then that I learned a really important lesson that I feel like most people have forgotten. I learned that if you hurt someone’s feelings, even unintentionally, you say 'sorry.' It’s not necessary that you feel sorry that you did what you did, it’s that you feel sorry for hurting someone. You don’t have to feel like what you did was wrong, but you need to know it was wrong to hurt someone. You don’t need to apologize for the action itself, just for the effect it had.

Yes, it is true that we live in a generation that some would say is too sensitive. Everything needs to be politically correct, and no matter what you do, there’s a good chance you’ll offend someone. Some people might say “Forget it! My goal in life isn’t to pander to your delicate nature. Sorry, not sorry, honey.” If you walk around acting that way toward everyone, including the people you care about, then don’t be surprised when those people stop acting like your friends.

When it comes to the people we love and cherish, there are different rules than what we have for the general population. Maybe that’s wrong, but I don’t think I would be able to survive if I put as much energy into every random interaction as I do into my close, personal friendships. Either way, I think there’s a different standard when it comes to friends. For random people, it seems fine to me to just say “Forget it, you have no place in my life, so why should I flatter you by caring about your lowly opinion?”

However, with friends, it's just different. You have to care if you hurt your friend's feelings. You have to remedy that situation. You have to agree, otherwise, there’s a solid chance you might lose that friend after you hurt them a couple times.This is all assuming that this a good, healthy friendship that you really care about and want to last.

You shouldn’t be okay with hurting the people you care about. They shouldn’t be okay with you not caring that you hurt them. Eventually, they won’t be there anymore. I just wanted to take this opportunity to remind us all that if you hurt someone, and you care about this relationship and want it to last, say sorry.

You don’t have to be sorry for whatever you did. You do need to be sorry for hurting your friend. Even if your friend is being overly sensitive, it’s your job as a good friend to care about the feelings you hurt and not be an invalidating ass who just says “You’re overreacting.” It doesn’t matter if your friend is overreacting, they’re still hurt, and it’s still your fault.

Go fix it, or don’t. But don’t be surprised when they stop acting like your friend.