Sometimes we underestimate the power of the word “sorry”. There are many times I have caught myself forgetting to say it, or being too scared to say it, or simply not knowing how to say it. Apologies are often so simple and over little things, but at times end up holding much more meaning than we ever realize. When I think over the apologies I have given, I often find the ones creeping up on me that I have never given.

I have never apologized to my mom for the hell I gave her during my teenage years. Back then, I thought she was absurd when she told me time and time again to watch my attitude. I never could figure out what “attitude” she was talking about. Looking back, I now know exactly what behavior she was referring to. I never apologized for all those times I made her wait around worrying about me, and what I was doing and who with. At the time I thought she was being overprotective, but now I realize it was because she cared about my safety and well-being. And lastly, I never apologized for all those times I swore up and down she was wrong, but she was right all along. I have come to learn that my mom is always right, and I have all those instances to thank for that little bit of knowledge.

I have never apologized to my brothers for being the typical annoying little sister. I remember screaming at the top of my lungs just to bother them, or attempt to get my way or to get them in trouble. I can only imagine the damage I have done to their eardrums because I know I have done a number on my vocal chords. I haven’t apologized to them for following them and their friends around all those years or making them change their plans around just to drive my friends and me around when they got their licenses. There’s probably many more things throughout the years that I have yet to apologize to my brothers for, and I imagine there will be much more to come.

I haven’t yet found the courage to apologize to my ex-best friend for being the one to cause our friendship to end. I have tried and tried again to find the right sequence of words to form an apology that will still never be able to make up for the pain I caused her. So far I have had no luck with doing so. Some apologies aren’t so simple, and this is one of them. One day I will hopefully be able to pull all the stray thoughts and words I have come up with over time together to form an apology because that is just barely scratching the surface for all that they deserve.

And lastly, I have never apologized to those currently in my life that I take for granted sometimes. When you have great people in your life that stick by your side from day to day, you may find yourself forgetting to really cherish them and all that they are. I know that I have friends and family that are there for me whenever I need them, no matter what I need them for, that I forget to remind sometimes just how much they mean to me. So here’s a promise to myself, and you guys, that in the future, I will never let all that you do for me got unnoticed and unappreciated.