After reading several different perspectives upon apologies during difficult time it made me realise that I experience the same incertitudes and emotions as other teenagers regarding apologies. I personally think apologies can be taken for granted and many people find it is the easiest, ‘shortest route’ out of a problem and is the automatic solution.

Being confined to my own personal space has enabled me to reflect on self worth, alike one of the students addressed in the article. This highlighted how you must always consider your happiness and self respect over others- whilst obviously not being selfish. I think often times, I always put myself in the vulnerable position by holding myself responsible for a fight or issue provoked amongst my friends. I don’t necessarily find this fair as now having reflected upon my past dilemas, I realised I tend to close the loop by apologising myself, as this is the best way to eradicate a problem. Also, from my experiences the other person doesn’t have a tendency to take the first step and initiate a resolution. However deep down, the underlying issue isn’t really resolved and is essentially just brushed aside. I think that generally the term ‘sorry’ is used out of our control and often we don’t know which scenarios to use it in.

Obviously during the pandemic the circumstances make it difficult to communicate effectively. I find that social media is the worst platform to communicate your feelings as simple phrases can be interpreted in the most unexpected ways. I think that so many unnecessary problems can be triggered throughout online conversations. Moreover, the fact we are confined at home and not exposed to physical interaction with others complicates our means of communication, altering it. We tend to dwell on things we never have before and may react to things in certain manners. It is a constant cycle of overthinking and I believe it’s purely provoked due to our drastic change in habits recently.

I think in these times it’s important to stay sincere and honest. If you do encounter a minor fight or misunderstanding, people shouldn’t assume the right way is always to apologise. Truthfully, people should speak for themselves and if the emotions hurt, then so let it be. In the end, it’s important to be truthful to yourself and own even the slightest of self respect. Apologies are effective only if you deeply mean them- if not it creates false feelings and can complicate things at the worst. Apologies are also very delicate and should be used responsibly. Essentially, they mean that you have acknowledged you are in the wrong or have identified a word or action you shouldn’t have done and wish to take it back. It is much more deeper than we think it is, and now I know that I should be conscious of when to use it and why I think it’s worth using.