I was probably five years old the first time I used the word "sorry." At that age, I was the center of the universe, and nothing or no one could stop me from being the cutest, smartest and best-behaved kindergartener.

Well, I, being the cute, perfect kindergartener that I was, had a nice little habit of stealing from my friends, parents and teachers, and then proceeding to lie about the theft. Despite my parents' and teachers' attempts to discipline me, I only mastered my thievery more and became the slyest criminal in Melissa and Billy's class. I hid my newly attained possessions behind my bookshelf in my room at home; I was a true mastermind.

I got frustrated one day because a stuffed rabbit I had stolen from my friend Kori would not fit behind the bookshelf. The rabbit's fluff made pushing the bookshelf back against the wall an impossible task, and alas, Mom walked into my room only to find me stacking up a pile of others' belongings to make the bunny fit. There I was, caught dead in the act. My mom found my collection of bracelets, ribbons, toys and glue sticks, and proceeded to get me to tell the truth.

Finally, I mustered up the courage to return the items and say sorry to the people I had taken them from. All was forgiven.

Now, 14 years later, the story is a little different. I am not in kindergarten, and I also do not steal my friends' jewelry.

"I'm sorry that was weird, sorry. Wait, sorry for saying sorry. Oops, sorry!" But boy, have the tables turned…

Today, the classic vicious cycle of saying sorry latches itself to my daily vocabulary very strongly. The word "sorry" has become probably the most commonly used word in my vocabulary, with "my bad" coming behind as a close second. The problem with saying sorry as much as I do for as little as I do wrong is that the word loses its real meaning. I am not arguing to omit the word from the English language -- as my story proves, the word exists for a reason. When the word is used in excess, however, it not only feeds into a false sense of guilt, but also banishes the power of forgiveness.

I challenge you to go one whole day and try to pause before your habit of saying sorry kicks in. You will learn to forgive yourself and then forgive others much more easily.

Besides, then when you want to steal your friend’s new flip-flops, you can say sorry, and they will know you mean it and maybe even let you keep them.