Bitterly I looked out the window.  She was asking for my forgiveness again?  She had hurt me so many times before this, why should I forgive her.  As I turned toward her to tell her that she was not forgiven and never would be again, a huge knot formed in my stomach.  I could not get the words out.  I had always been taught to forgive those who hurt you.  My mom said that I could forgive a person one thousand times and, if they hurt me again and asked for forgiveness, I should grant that forgiveness.  Where thoughts of hate and disgust had been, words of love and kindness came flowing out.  “Of course I forgive you.  I love you and know that you didn’t mean to hurt me.  We all make mistakes because we’re all human.”

That is just one of the many times that my mom’s words about forgiveness have saved myself, and others, from a world of pain.  I strongly believe that no matter what a person has done to you and no matter how much it hurts, you should still give them another chance.  I had an experience when I was in high school that has stayed with me ever since.  I was sitting in my biology class waiting for our midterm test to start when a sudden feeling of panic washed over me.  I had not studied as well as I should have and there was no way I was going to pull the A grade off that I wanted.  As I sat there panicking, an idea formed in my head.  I was one of the few students who actually listened in class.  I took really good notes and figured that I should be able to use them.  I was sure that other people were cheating too, or at least that is what I told myself so I would not feel so bad.  Slowly I pulled out my notes and placed them strategically in my desk so that I could see them but nobody else could.  All through the test I felt horrible.  I had never cheated before and I did not like the feeling at all.

After class, as I was packing my things up, I decided that I needed to talk to the teacher and tell her what I did.  With my feet feeling like lead, I walked up to the front of the classroom.  Hurriedly I threw out the explanation of what I had done and waited for the axe to fall.  After a few seconds my teacher still had not responded.  Timidly I looked up into what I expected to be cold and disappointed eyes.  Instead I saw a smile of appreciation and forgiveness.  She told me that she had seen me cheating but had decided not to say anything at the time because she knew that I was generally a good student.  She had hoped that I would tell her what I had done so that she would not have to take action.  I apologized profusely again and she said that it was okay.  I met with her after school that day to take a different test without cheating.  I did not get an A, but that did not matter.  I felt good about what I had done and I knew that my teacher’s forgiveness was much better than an A grade.

Ever since I had the experience, the expression on her face comes to mind when I think about being the cold and disappointed person I imagined she would be.  I have found that I am much quicker to forgive, even when a lot of people would say that the person I was forgiving did not deserve it.  If I got that second chance after I had done something that I considered extremely bad, why shouldn’t I give somebody else a second chance?  My mother’s words and my teacher’s actions have continued to influence how I act towards people today.  No matter what a person has done, they too deserve the forgiveness and compassion that I have to offer, and so it is my duty to give all of the love I can give to them without a second thought.