Morning philosophy and second chances

Good morning.

I’m awake too early, the alarm won’t go off until 7:30AM. Might as well use my time productively.

When I was in about 8th grade, I decided I needed a role model. I’d never actively had one, and since everyone else seemed to value them quite a lot, I figured it was my turn to choose.

After some consideration, I ended up with Professor Dumbledore. Why, you may ask? Simply because he gave everyone second chances, especially tragic characters, like Snape. To me, that character trait seemed very much defining for a “good person”.

Ever since, I have really tried to implement this…sort of philosophy of giving people another chance. I’ve learned that sometimes, believing in their good potential can earn you a lot of new friends and sympathy.

But, and here comes my issue with second chances, not everyone is so appreciative. Some people just don’t want to do better, mainly because they don’t think they’ve done any wrong.
It took me long years to realise that, and during this time, I got hurt considerably, by those who I considered closest to me.

I now understand that in order to be a good person, you don’t have to give everyone a free pass to treat you any way they want. Instead, you have a responsibility to make sure you are okay, and sometimes that may involve giving someone another chance, but other times, you have to let them go.

I’m not going to pretend, though, that I’m good at implementing this rule in my life, I still struggle a lot with setting clear boundaries. As long as someone is remotely nice to me, I have a tendency to willingly overlook their flaws, even if they would be a massive red flag otherwise.

The good thing, however, is that in the last year or so, I’ve bettered myself and my behaviour a bit. It also helped that my previous strategy blew up in my face and I was treated like shit once. A metaphorical slap in the face does wonders from time to time.

I try to keep in mind that all of this is a journey, and not to rush myself too much. I hope you can do the same, dear reader.

For now:

Peace out,
Emilia