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JUNIOR REPORTER

Forgiveness
by: Niki H., Grade 6 student, St. Anne's Elementary, Peterborough, ON

Introduction
Have you ever been forgiven? Have you ever forgiven someone? Have you ever got in a ‘best friend’ fight? How many times should you forgive? What is the hardest part of forgiveness? Do you think there is enough forgiveness around the world?

These are really good things to think about. But are they true? No. I think we could improve on forgiveness as a community. Here are some of the times I forgave or others forgave me.

Accidents Forgiven
Have you ever been forgiven? I think everybody has. I remember when I pushed my brother off the trampoline. I never knew it would hurt. Thankfully, he forgave me. I also remember when I dropped my aunt’s new dog. They just got a new Jack Russell Terrier who was 8 weeks old. I dropped him on the cement. I thought they would start screaming at me, but all they said was “he’ll be fine”. They forgave me without even saying, “I forgive you.”

The Sock War
Have you ever been in a ‘best friend’ fight? I sure have. With my best friend, Jen. One Tuesday I asked Jen if she wanted to come over for a sleep over. So we asked her mom. Surprisingly, she said, “Yes”. Off we went to Jen’s house to get her clothes. I told her to bring her shirt, pants, socks, Elliott and toothbrush. I thought that was all she needed. But little did I know that we had almost identical socks.

When we got to my house we decided to go on the trampoline. We both ran outside and left our socks inside on the floor by the door. My dog started chewing them and got them mixed up. When we came back in I picked up the sock I thought was mine. Jen started to complain. ‘Those are mine” she said. I said, “No, they’re mine.” “What are you talking about?” “They are mine”. We both had tears in our eyes by now.

Finally, we forgot about the socks. Later we started at it again. “They are mine”. “No, these ones are yours, those are mine!” Then we argued ourselves to sleep.

In the morning I woke up early to get the socks and stuff them in my drawer. I forgot to put the other socks away. So Jen saw the socks and said, “Hey, where are my socks?” Correcting her, I said, “My socks are in my drawer.” Jen said she would prove to me she had an identical pair. So we took them to Jen’s house. She put MY socks in her drawer. Making an excuse she said, “My 5 pairs are in the wash”. Then I told her mom and she forgave me. Guess who got the socks....ME!

We are not arguing about the socks anymore, but next time she might get the socks. We are still friends today. That incident could have made us enemies. But since she forgave me, we remain friends.

Babysitter's Blunder
I remember forgiving one of my babysitters. My mom had a job. She was desperate for a babysitter. Emily’s mom said, “sure, I will babysit”. After a few months it was horrible. One day she was very mean to me. She gave us all macaroni and cheese. She gave me way too much.

I said, “I can’t eat all this”. She replied, “if it’s in your bowl, you eat it”.

After gobbling about half of the overflowing bowl I told her again. “This is too much. I can’t eat it all”.

Nasty words came out of her mouth, “Eat it or else” she said.

Slowly I finished the last bite. She then said, “now go downstairs and play.” I walked down about 6 steps. When I reach the landing, I puked. I told Emily’s mom. She said that she had phone my mom and asked, “What should I do?” She said me that my mom told her that she should make me clean it all up. So I grabbed the cloth. I glared at her as she grinned. I had to clean it up. Somehow that didn’t sound right to me. So I did as I was told and cleaned it all up.

When I got home I asked my mom, “Did our babysitter phone you today?” She stated, “No”. Emily’s mom had lied and enjoyed every minute of it. All so she would not have to clean up it up.

It took me a while but I finally forgave her. I still do not understand why she did that but, the good thing is I forgave her. I am happy I did because not forgiving others only hurts me. Forgiving and letting go is healthy for my body and mind.

The Hardest Part
What is the hardest part about forgiving? The hardest part is......actually confusing what you did such as lying about it. For example, you walk home from school every day. You always pass by your mom’s work. One day you goof off and throw a rock the size of a golf ball at your mom’s office window. The glass shatters. You run the 3 blocks home. That night at supper your mom brings up the topic. You can a) choose to tell her the truth, or b) ask her, “I wonder who would do a thing like that?” I’d pick a) because this article taught me about forgiveness. Sometimes you have to swallow hard and tell the truth. Now I know the right choice. Forgive and forget.

Conclusion
Good things don’t always come easy. I like that sentence. It reflects on forgiveness. Forgiveness is a good thing, but it can’t come easy. If we all work together the world will be exploding with forgiveness. I hope this article taught you a little bit about forgiveness. You too will make the right choice if you learn and take my advice. I know you will make the right choice. Forgive.


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