Forgiveness. It’s a word we hear everyday, but what does it really mean to us? And do we truly display it in our daily lives?

As soon as a walk into school I see everything but forgiveness. “She did this!”, “He did that!”, “I am never going to forgive them!”. Our generation portrays the opposite of this praised attribute. We are all about ‘holding grudges’, and talking about others behind their backs. We don’t want to listen to all this ‘turn a blind eye’ nonsense, instead we love to dwell in the past, only concentrating on mistakes. It’s true that at times the wrong done to us seems unforgivable. You and your friend may have had a fight, or someone’s said or done something thats really hurt your feelings, but are these really reasons to not forgive?

I am sorry to say but, typically, it’s us girls that are the biggest culprits. Now im not saying that boys are totally innocent - we all know that’s not true - but in the big picture girls tend to talk about others behind their backs a lot more often. A girl fight = long and drawn out. Including put downs, upsets and spiteful comments. A boys fight = a punch in the face and then their ‘algood’ again. Though violence is certainly not the answer, boys know something we don’t. They know how to let something go. Come on girls we need to get our acts together!

Imagine how different our lives would be if everyone made the effort to forgive. When your friend does something that really ticks you off lets say, ‘oh well, we shouldn’t let something as silly as that get in the way of our friendship.’ It’s alright to be upset, angry or hurt, yes, but it’s holding on to these feelings, and not letting go, that’s bringing us down.

It doesn’t mean we have to go around with smilies on our faces 24/7, ignoring anything that has the potential to change that, but we need to understand that forgiveness isn’t just a fairy tale from a story book. Forgiveness can set you free from your worries and anger. It can lighten your burdens and by forgiving we can build better relationships. It is a real and true quality that we should all strive to possess. We won’t achieve it every time and that’s alright, but to even say we’ve tried is an improvement.

So next time someone does something to hurt or annoy you don’t ‘hold a grudge’ or dwell on it, forgive. It may take a while, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t happen straight away, but im telling you now that it’s 100% worth it. Forgiveness is a process. A process that will set you free, I dare you to try it.