Let’s be real. No-one likes to admit they’re wrong. The mountains crumble, the sky caves in, and the earth opens up to swallow your shame. A wise man once said, “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a man to admit he’s wrong.” Of course, that’s not a saying but it should be. Feel free to quote me cuz that was mad deep, not entirely original but deep, don’t judge me.

It’s easy for us to make a mistake and run with it, stick by it, and fall in love with it - Unfortunately I have done this a fuck load of times. But the one thing we rarely ever do is own up to it. And that’s a cheap formula for destroying relationships, friendships, and futures. If society is built on honesty and justice, well I’m sure we want it to be, then this is where it begins to disintegrate.

When I was in the eighth grade (bare with me, even though this was a million years ago), I witnessed this firsthand and it’s crazy how the simplest things can snowball. Really crazy! Watch me..

It related to to of my classmates, one of them was “bright”, always shows up for class, always does his work, and always gets great grades, let’s call him Rupert. The other was just an average boy. Not too exceptional but certainly one of those you should look out for. Now our English teacher was really strict - Mr. Haye, I can never forget that man. You couldn’t miss a single deadline or you’d be next doom of the island, listen he got really creative with that! I think he enjoyed it waaayyyy too much.

At the end if eight grade in Literature class there’s this final essay on one of the books we had to turn in. I don’t even remember the name, you could throw any book title at me and I’m sure it would sound right, bleh, not that deep. Anyway, Brandon forgot his essay but “found” one on the classroom, quickly rewrote it, slapped his name on it, and handed it in for a fat A+. Rupert on the other hand panicked when he couldn’t find the essay, tried to do a quick rewrite from memory, and ended up getting a C. What made it worse was that after trying to explain, the teacher publicly embarrassed him for not taking school seriously.

Rupert broke at that moment.

What followed was a string of absences and lackluster academic performance. He went from a budding scholar to a budding bum and it broke Brandon’s heart to watch. So he finally fessed up to Rupert and their teacher and got their grades switched around. Now, my name’s not Brandon but I was that guy. I did something wrong and sat on it for a while before making it right. In that short time, I watched someone spiral into a shell of himself. Looking back it at it now, I wonder how much worse it could have been if I hadn’t made it right.

And I realized a lot of people wonder the very opposite.

They reminisce about things they have done and wonder how better things would be if they had right the wrongs they did to others. Most of them never get to find out.

Besides saving someone’s academic pursuits, righting your wrongs helps in many ways. It can mend strained relationships, promote personal healing, and relieve you of heavy baggage. You’re not just improving your own life, you’re bettering the lives of others as well.

Whether you’re partners, family, friends, or strangers, confessing your misdeeds and redeeming yourself is the kinder side of humanity that we all need. So let the mountains crumble, watch the sky cave in, and allow the earth to swallow you whole. At the end of it all, the world will be a better place.

Be the camel that threads the needle. Okurr? Lol.