Forgiveness; there’s a word that describes one of the hardest things to give in this world. I think we all have said we forgive someone at some point, but when it comes down to it, we always still hold onto that little bit of resentment or bitterness. I recently did some self reflection, and realized that there are a few people and events in my life I’m still resentful towards. Due to these moments of self reflection, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about forgiveness, and why it’s so important; not for the person at fault, but for ourselves.
Without getting too specific about these not-so-great moments in my life, I can tell you that there have been plenty of times things have not worked out the way I hoped they would. I’ve had best friends who have said they’d always be around, and then decide I’m “too much” for them to handle. I don’t think there’s anything as scary for me as having someone rip the safety and security you feel around them out from under your feet. I resented these people for a long time, and even blamed myself. However, I finally came to the conclusion that by not accepting the situation for what it was, I was giving these people all the power by allowing myself to be angry and bitter.
<div>I think the same mindset goes for some of the people I encountered when I was in college. I went through an immense amount of body-shaming, mostly brought on by professors. It got to the point where I needed to go to counseling, because I had such a negative outlook on myself. I’ll be honest, this is something I’ve hung onto for so many years; it’s been a difficult one to get past. However, I finally realized that their words and opinions had no power over me anymore. Here I am, going into another theatre production, and not one director I've had the privilege of working with since I graduated has made a nasty comment to me about my weight. I’ve proved them wrong, so it must be time to let all of that go.</div>
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<div>The moral of this blog is; life is too short to spend your time being miserable over the words and actions of other people. In the end, you’ll be better off letting go of all the anger, bitterness and resentment toward them, and living your best life. After all, the best form of revenge is moving on, and being happy, right?</div>