During Sophomore year in university, my best friend and I got into a fight.
The animosity was difficult to maintain because we couldn’t really avoid each other. We were both in the same major and had most of our classes together.
But we were kids, and we were determined to do everything possible to keep the bitterness alive.
We would walk into class without speaking to each other, keeping dry eye contact just to make sure the other knew how deliberate the act was. We would sit as far apart as possible and ignore each other.
This lasted for a few weeks.
But a few weeks later, I tried to remember what we had argued about in the first place. I literally could not remember what started the fight.
That morning, in class, I walked up to my friend and said, “I tried to remember what we argued about, but I couldn’t remember it. And unless you can remind me, I don’t see any reason for us to continue to be in a fight.” Then I added, “If it was my fault, please accept my apology.”
I set my bag next to him and sat down., life went back to normal.
The moral of the story is:
After graduation, this guy left the country and never looked back. Our friendship dissolved with the distance.
Be careful not to waste your apologies on those who don’t deserve it, even if it sounds poetic or sentimental at the time.