"Sorry" has become my default word since I was born. I feel like I am constantly apologizing for things, even when I know I did nothing wrong. I just say it. And honestly, it even pisses me off sometimes. Why do I keep saying a word that is irrelevant to the conversation?

There has been a cartoon circling around for awhile that emphasizes on ways to say thank you instead of sorry for the most general situations. And after reading it, it's true; there are other ways for "apologizing" without actually apologizing.

This picture sums it up for me. Why so I keep apologizing for existing? For talking about my problems? For taking up people's time and space?

My friend said to me yesterday that her mother was giving her life advice. She told her that she should be careful not to make a mistake that she cannot recover from, alluding to hooking up and getting pregnant (it could definitely mean other things but to the both of us, that's how we interpreted it). And then my friend told me something extremely true: "Humans are not a mistake." We are not mistakes. Maybe we were conceived under false pretenses and may have become a distraction for our parents, but in the end, we are not mistakes. It's own destiny (as cheesy as that sounds) to be alive, to do what we want to do, to change the world.

Looking back on my life, I spent half of it apologizing to people. even apologizing to people I don't know! But not anymore. I'm beginning a conscious decision to say thank you more. Being thankful is so much more important than being apologetic. Not only that but it will potentially bring you more positivity and more positivity for others.

For this New Year, start saying, "Thank you," more. We could all use that kind of positivity in our life.