The Relief Of Forgiveness

The Relief Of Forgiveness

Saying goodbye to grudges and moving on takes strength.


Time heals everything. We hear that saying whenever we are mad or sad about something that happened to us or to someone we love. Have you ever felt relief from holding a grudge? No? I didn't think so, and that's because the power of forgiveness is stronger than hate.

Growing up I have seen lots of arguments and feelings get hurt. From someone calling another person a name and then the whole class is on it all the way till graduation; to just simply saying I can't be your friend anymore and no explanation for it. Then we all know what comes after those situations or ones like them.

A hatred that lasts for so long we honestly can't remember a reason why we hate that person. Or if we do, we question it because it has been so long.

There are good and dumb reasons to stay mad at someone, but to hold that against the person 10 years down the road is a little much. No matter what happens, holding on to all of that hate puts yourself in a very unhealthy mental state. It could take one person, one grudge and next thing you know its years down the road and you can't remember yourself ever feeling so free and happy.

The pain stays with us longer than happiness, and I wish I could understand why. That is why when people say one negative thing to a person and then a ton of positive ones, the only thing that person is going to remember is the one negative comment. People are mean, and we all know that. I think a big reason is that everyone is holding onto at least one grudge. You may try your best not to, and you may swear you don't, but it could be a tiny one you just don't realize it.

Try and find something that irritates you, that annoys the heck out of you. Now can you tell me why? There are people in this world that walk around mad at everyone they see happy? Why is that? Is it because something bad happened to them? Multiple things maybe?

I've seen and heard stories of people growing up in the worst environment and still finding a positive outlook on life and where they want to be. Even people that are blessed with big and expensive things often fail out on having the correct attention and love a person needs. Even those people can turn around and make sure whoever they impact feels the love they didn't get.

Photo by MARK ADRIANE on Unsplash

Holding onto a grudge and being mad all the time doesn't make sense to me. If anything I end up feeling sorry for that person. They will never understand the relief they could get from forgiveness. The feeling of letting all of that tension and sadness go is one of the greatest feelings in the world. It is a weight lifted off of your shoulders. You can smile and laugh at the smallest things again.

So let go of whatever is holding you back from experiencing pure happiness. Talk to the person who abandoned you when you needed them most. Let them know how that impacted you and move on.

Let the person who broke your heart realize the way they treated you, and pray they treat every person after you better. Join a group that has the same passion as you and let them uplift you when no one else would.

It's the little things that make us happy. Making one decision to let go of the hatred that makes you feel so bleh inside will make you see everything you missed out on. It will make you realize how much a grudge can take away from you.

I'm not saying you have to speak to that person again or do that situation over. I'm saying you will realize how bright the world can be if you start sharing some of your happiness with the people around you vs. the negativity. We have enough of that in this world.

The relief of forgiveness is strong. It's the power to decide if you're going to be happy today and every day or just wallow in the fact that a person called you a name. Stand up and be strong. That one person has no control over you so why would you let a grudge have the same power you give someone's words or actions. Everyone is strong in their own ways, and with the power of forgiveness, anything is possible.

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The One Thing Everyone Should Do Before They Graduate

Why I wish everyone could have shared in my end of school adventure.


The end of freshman year was filled with the abundant stress of final exams, teary-eyed goodbyes, and last looks at my dorm room on South Campus. The academic year was overwhelmingly busy, and I tried my best to soak in every single moment as a first-year college student. But as I'm sure many of you can understand, it's not always possible to make time for the adventures we so desperately desire. I found myself saying "I want to do that!" all year long, and here it was the last week of the year and my bucket list had barely been touched. All those Philadelphia excursions, dreamy coffee shop dates, and campus explorations that I looked forward to never ended up panning out…

… until last Thursday night.

With about half the freshman class moved out of South Campus, everything felt a little strange. There was barely a dinner rush at all in Donahue Dining Hall, and my room looked so empty it almost made me sad. Naturally, I called up a couple of friends. Within minutes, we met in the lounge, and we were off for our adventure.

Every single day on the way to labs in Mendel Hall, I walked past the beloved Falvey Fountain. It had become such a consistent part of my routine that walking past it felt like it was a necessary daily occurrence. But this time, we didn't walk past. In fact, we stopped dead in our tracks and admired its color changing beauty for a brief moment.

And then we dove in!

Yes, we jumped right into the fountain. First the daring adventurer of the group, then his sidekick, then the skeptic, and finally myself. This was definitely not allowed, but no one was around, and more importantly, no one cared. Being knee deep was freezing, but the adrenaline rush was too much to suppress. So we submerged further, dunking each other and splashing the icy water literally everywhere. My wet hair made way for the most epic hair flip of all time, and we all laughed joyously.

All the stress of looming final grades and the completion of projects, the bittersweet goodbyes to our newfound families, and the hassles of packing up for the year were washed away in that fountain, drowned in the euphoria of the moment. We were officially baptized in summer as it dubbed us the kings and queens of adventure.

Afterward, we wrung out our soaking clothes and snapped a quick pic of our drenched selves. Trying to escape the scene hastily, I dropped my bag of M&M;'s. They spilled everywhere, leaving streams of melty chocolate and food coloring running through the aftermath of our fountain dive. The scene looked like a bit of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory had exploded from the fountain and into the night.

I am far from kidding when I say that adventure is a must for everyone, at any stage of life. Whether it's fountain diving at Nova, or sky diving in New Mexico, something about us as human beings needs the unusual, exciting, and even hazardous experiences. This one was particularly cleansing and absolutely unforgettable.

So I implore you: go forth this summer and be adventurous! Explore hidden places, try new eats, shuffle a stranger's playlist, introduce yourself to someone on a whim, or just get in the car and drive with no destination in mind. This summer is for the bold; this summer's for you.

Happy adventuring!


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