Maybe you’ve heard the expression ‘leopards don’t change their spots’. It’s something my dad would always tell me growing up after someone let me down again. In most cases he was right, but I’ve always been one to go ahead and give someone another chance.

In all honesty, I like to think about treating others how I would want to be treated. So for instance, say you messed up with someone who meant a lot to you, wouldn’t you want to be able to get another chance? Of course you would, humans make plenty of mistakes in their life time.

I tend to keep this in mind when I think about letting someone back into my life again. Sure, maybe a person screwed up in the past but if you go around holding grudges against all of the people who have potential to be great in your life, you’ll never be happy.

There are a few people who I can honestly say have received too many chances from me, hurting me repeatedly, but in the end I can’t say that I didn’t try. Another thing my dad taught me growing up was to always be the bigger person. Always be the one that rises above their hurt feelings and attempt to forgive and forget if you can. Now, I’m not saying that this always works, but its something you should always at least try to do.

Plenty of people have done me wrong in the past, and I believe that I have been very receptive to their apologies after we talk over what happened. Communication is the key to moving forward in life. No one will ever be able to get past something if they don’t talk about the issue at hand because its just how humans are. The best thing anyone can do is just to keep an open mind.

Maybe some people don’t believe in giving second chances, but I feel that life is too short to argue with people for no reason, especially if its someone who has the potential to add to your happiness. Everyone deserves to be happy.

Of course with giving second chances there’s always a chance you’ll get burned. It’ll hurt you for a little while, but when you finally take a step back and look at the fact that giving someone a second chance allowed you to be the better person and give everyone a fair shot at being a part of your life, you’ll feel a lot better.

So many people have this mindset that you shouldn’t give anyone another chance but I think that if you don’t you’re really missing out. You’re eliminating an opportunity for someone to make an impact on your life or to impact someone else’s life. Taking risks is what life is all about, if you’re too afraid to take a risk you’re going to miss out on opportunities left and right.

Giving someone more than one chance has a lot to do with character. I’m not saying that if you don’t you’re a bad person, but it definitely takes a certain type of person to realize that someone deserves another chance. I know that sometimes people don't turn out to be worth the second chance, I've been there.

I've given a few people a second chance against my better judgement and the discouragement of my friends and I've gotten burned in the end but all I can say is I'm glad I tried.

Next time someone comes back into your life out of no where, try giving them another chance and seeing what happens. You never know unless you try.