I got to thinking about “sorry.” It’s one simple word that means so much; it’s one simple word that can change almost anything. But for some reason, most of us are too proud to say it. What is that about? Why are we so hurtful to our fellow humans? I was recently very hurt by someone. Someone else close to me stood up for me like my knight in shining armor and asked her to apologize. She did not. Instead, she denied it happened. And maybe she doesn’t remember saying that hurtful thing to me. Maybe she’s too proud to apologize. I honestly don’t know. But what I do know: I remember it. I know she said it. And it tremendously hurt my feelings. All I wanted was an “I’m sorry.” That’s it. Is that too much to ask? Am I being unreasonable? Of course, I don’t see it that way. And sure, you can call me bias. That’s fine. But I just hope to get an apology sooner rather than later. What she said was untrue and disrespectful and it really hurt me. I can forgive that moment of hurt, but I just want to hear an apology. Simple as that. Let this be a lesson: Don’t be too proud. Always say you’re sorry. It’s the only thing that matters.

I got to thinking about self-centeredness. Someone recently told me that I was self-centered. Not a stranger, someone close to. And you know what? It really hurt my feelings. Like, really, really hurt my feelings. Why would this person think that? I spend plenty of time devoting myself to others, but I also have “me” time. And shouldn’t I? Shouldn’t everyone? I am twenty-five years old; I don’t have children to worry about and I am unmarried. Why can’t I devote time to myself? This person who told me this made it seem like I was self-centered because I was focused on my career. Yes, I want to be a writer. It’s been my dream since age 11. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I work damn hard every day to make this dream come true. That absolutely does not make me self-centered. That is driven.

So why didn’t this person understand the difference? I am not quite sure. But I hope this person does now. I am not self-centered because I don’t want to have a family immediately. I am not self-centered because I want to follow my dreams. I have to work hard every day, and if that means putting other things on hold for a while, so be it. But I am not self-centered because of it. Do not ever tell a hard-working person he/she is selfish because you don’t understand their goals. That is awful. And just disrespectful.

Follow your heart, always, be a good person, and don’t let naysayers get you down. That will just crush your dreams. You know what’s right. Just ignore that noise. It takes practice, but you can do it.