When I think about the kindest, coolest, or even my favourite things I can say about myself, I would say the first one is the fact that I hold myself in high esteem. I really care a lot about my well-being, how I carry myself, and how I treat others. I don’t like to pretend or play games with people, so I’ve come to realize that some of the best qualities about me revolve around being true, straightforward, and accountable.
The first thing I truly admire about myself is that I am not two-faced. One thing about me is that I’m always straightforward. I don’t sugarcoat things or pretend to be okay with something when I’m not. Whether you are my friend or just someone I know, if you do something wrong to me or to someone else, I will definitely call it out. I think it’s only right to be honest, instead of bottling it up or gossiping behind someone’s back.
For example, before coming home recently, I had a misunderstanding with my friend. We were in the hostel room, and he was heading outside to get some snacks. So, I politely asked him to help me buy some too and assured him that I would send him the money when he returned. Now, when he came back, not only did he not get my snacks, but he was also laughing about it. Honestly, I was really pissed off because I would never do that to him. In fact, if the roles were reversed, he would have probably taken it more seriously than I did and might have even created a bigger scene. To make matters worse, he didn’t even show a sign of remorse. He just laughed like it was funny. So, I had to be straightforward with him and told him directly that I didn’t like what he did. He didn’t apologize because he knew he did it purposefully, so at that point, I just decided to let him be. That’s the type of person I am—I won’t hide how I feel just to please someone.
Another quality about me that I really value is that I try my best to apologize whenever I realize I’m wrong. I’m very aware that I’m human, and as humans, we are bound to make mistakes. I don’t try to act perfect or above correction. Whenever I notice I’ve wronged someone, I take time to reflect, own up to my mistake, and apologize.
There was even a recent example in school during a class presentation. We were divided into groups of three, and in my group, I was asked to handle the pictures that would be used in the presentation. Instead of admitting that I didn’t really know how to do it, I flared up and snapped at my group members, telling them to leave me alone. One of them got really angry and threatened to report me to the teacher for not participating, and at the time, I still said I didn’t care. But later on, when I calmed down, I realized I was wrong. I shouldn’t have behaved that way, and I needed to take responsibility. So, I gathered the courage to apologize to both of them and told them I was deeply sorry. The truth is, the other guy ended up doing all the work for the presentation, which made me feel even guiltier.
But I learned something from that experience, which was that saying sorry doesn’t make me weak. It shows maturity. And for me, being honest and being able to apologize are two of the best qualities I have, and I’m proud of them.
Thanks for reading.