Finding Freedom in Forgiveness

How do you forgive someone who falsely sent you to jail for 11 years? You would have to really be one with in yourself and be able to forgive someone so you can be free.  Falsely being in jail for rape can have a toll on a person and miss years of your life on an accusation. In order to find freedom you have to forgive that person.

 Forgiving people who hurt you, because if you don’t they will have power over you. According to Jennifer Thomas-Cannino, in the essay “Finding Freedom in Forgiveness” helping someone free themselves from anger while trying to find peace can help build a strong bond in friendship and forgiveness. Jennifer had picked a man out as the person who had raped her. The man she picked out was a black man Ronald Cotton. Jenifer soon found out 11 years later that the man she identified was not the man who had raped her. The DNA was not a match for Ronald, but was a match for a male in jail that was serving a lesser sentence. When they found the man who allegedly raped Jennifer they had released Ronald from. Ronald forgave Jennifer because they were both victims in this case. Ronald and Jennifer are good friends as of today and live a peaceful life and got rid of all the anger and hate they had though out the years of this case.

I partially feel the same way that Jennifer Thomas-Cannino does with finding freedom and forgiveness. When forgiving someone you can find freedom, even if they falsely accused you of a crime you didn't commit. I believe that you do find freedom and free spirit when you forgive someone because it’s a burden that’s lifted off your heart. When you forgive someone you are letting anger and negative energy release from your body.  I disagree because if I went to jail for 11 years for a crime that I did not commit, I am not sure that I could forgive someone so easily. The understanding of having 11 years taken off of my life just because of an assumption would damage my emotions and heart towards that person. I would forgive, but I would have to take time for the healing process.

That’s why I feel that it’s hard to forgive, but if you take the time to embrace yourself and allow ultra-healing then anything is possible and you can forgive. 

We’re All Different in Our Own Ways

 Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Harriet Tubman, and Abraham Lincoln went off to do great things because they were different. If everyone was exactly the same the world would be filled with robots. Everyone is different and who are we to judge another’s uniqueness. We were made to be different in our own way so we can stand out and shine.

You should never judge a book by its cover you should try reading a page or two. I, too, believe that we’re all different in our own ways because we were all created to be different. If everyone was the same we would live in a repetition world and we copy what everyone else is doing. I don’t like the fact of teasing or bullying someone because their different. There are famous people who are known because they did great things and people thought they were weird because they had strong feelings about something. We all have our own opinions about different things, It’s called having freedom of speech. Everyone should be respected for being different with the understanding that we are all different in our own way.

An essayist for This I Believe has a similar position.  According to Joshua Yuchasz, in the essay, “We’re All Different in Our Own Ways,” imagining everyone being the same, which would make the world boring. Don’t judge someone because their different just embrace it and allow them to be who they are. In elementary school Joshua realized he was different than normal kids. He was teased because of being interested in snakes and lizards and always getting in trouble with the teacher for not paying attention. Joshua was getting teased in middle school for being interest in Godzilla. The students treated him different for knowing scientific facts and being smart. Just because someone is different does not give anyone the right to tease, taunt, or disrespect a person’s self-interest because being different is what makes a person unique.

Next time, you judge someone because they are different try and see why this person is different and accept it or even embrace it.

            

Finding the Strength to Fight Our Fears

Spiders, lizards, snakes, dogs, cats, and even clowns are some things that people fear in life. Being scared is an emotion that can over take the brain and make someone forget the logic of what’s really in front of us. Fear is dangerous if you let it control you, and you might not be able to control your senses and it could put you in harm’s way.  You have to find the strength to fight your fears and overcome your emotion.

You have to have strength to fight your fears because in some situations it can kill you. I agree with Terry Ahwal. With the statement “I believe it is fear we should be fighting not the “other”,” because we are all humans and we are all different. When you let fear overpower you, it can also side track you from your surroundings and make you lose concentration. Fear can also cause death, when you are in a horrific situation you would have to calm down and make the right decisions. When in fear you have to make the right decisions and you need a clear stable mind in order to do so. There has been a time when I was in fear, but I let my logic take over instead of emotion so I could get myself out of the situation safely.

 I’m not the only one who feels this way. According to Terry Ahwal, in the essay "Finding the Strength to Fight Our Fears" believing in people we think are different and fighting against our fears is extremely difficult. Terry Ahwal grew up in Palestine, and is now living in Detroit. At the age of eleven Terry had to hide under a car from the Israeli soldiers. With whom the soldiers would have killed her if she was caught. Years later in Detroit she witnessed many whites fleeing the city out of fear. After the 9/11 attack Arab and Muslim segregated themselves from other resident’s suspicions. Again they allow the differences to separate them because of fear. We should fight against fear but instead we fight people we think our different from us.

So, the next time you are in a fearful situation just remember to breathe and think logically and not emotionally so you can be in control of your fear.