Promises

How much does an “I promise” mean to you? Have you ever broken a promise to someone and then apologized? How many of those times did your apology get automatically accepted, and your promise automatically forgotten? Webster’s definition of a promise is: “agreement to do or not to do something; to cause to expect.” An average teenager’s definition: a promise is a promise, a form of trust that shouldn’t be broken. Whether it is with words or simply a pinky, it is something that sorry just can not fix. I believe that promises mean everything, but once they’re broken sorry means nothing.

I had a really close friend that promised me their friendship forever. He said he would always be that shoulder I could lean on. He promised that he would never forget about me or not be there for me. My friend moved away for college. We talk on occasion, but he says he would rather not, to keep himself from missing me. In other words, he would like to just forget about me. As if moving was not already hard enough to deal with, he added more to the pain. He broke a promise that meant a lot to me, and it hurt. If he told me he was sorry I would probably forgive him, but I wouldn’t forget about it. That pain of having that promise broken still remains with me.

It is the simplest things that are life-changing. The whole world makes promises. The whole world breaks promises. I myself make and break them. After my experience I’ve learned to not make any promises that I know I can’t keep. I have apologized, and I have been apologized to. It does not cancel out the fact that things have been broken. The next time you make a promise to a friend, be careful. Don’t say things that you know you will not do. Don’t say things you know you will not do. Don’t promise them things if you’re not positive you can fulfill them. Put yourself in your friend’s shoes. Breaking promises is like breaking hearts. They never truly heal.