4 Phone Calls - "I'm Sorry," "I Forgive You," "I Love You," and "Thank you"

We have a program in our dorm where we spotlight three residents and basically bombard them with questions for an hour. What happens is three people sit on a couch, each give a one to two minute summary of the basics in their lives (family, hometown, major, etc.) and then the rest of the hour is open to the rest of the dorm to ask them any question they would like. Some of our favorites include: Most embarrassing moment, When did you become cool?, and Favorite college moment.

Today, a resident raised her hand and in a shy but confident voice, asked:

If you could make four phone calls to say one of the four phrases "I'm sorry," "I forgive you," "I love you," and "thank you," who would you call?

What a simple but thought provoking question!

I think these might be my answers:

I'm Sorry - I would call my parents, not because I was a rebellious teenager or I don't think I've lived up to their expectations, but I would say sorry for all of the times that I withheld what I truly felt from them. I have a tendency to keep my thoughts, my beliefs, and my opinions to myself for fear of causing chaos, argument, or negative energy. Thus my parents were kept a part from a lot of what I was feeling and thinking as I was growing up. This was especially true when they separated and soon after divorced. So I would tell them I'm sorry for not being open and not sharing what I feel when I'm sure what they needed most was for their daughter to share how she felt.

I Forgive You - I would call my two friends from High School who stopped speaking to me after I was accepted to the university I currently attend. They had both applied and were both denied and for some reason that gave them reason to call me names behind my back and to not like me. I was angered by their actions and couldn't understand what I had done wrong to deserve such treatment. But I forgive them. I forgive them for calling me names and I forgive them for not knowing any other way to express how they felt. So the next time I am in the same room with them, instead of walking the other way, I will meet them and smile and say hello, because I forgive them.

I Love You - I would call my best friend whom I've known for the past two years, and tell him that I love him. I love him for pushing me past my limits but also being there whenever I needed to lean on someone. He is a beautiful soul that is still rough around the edges, but is growing and evolving into who he wants to be, and all the while, he is there for me.

Thank You - I would call my grandmother. She passed a couple of years ago, and I used to believe that I was her least favorite grandchild. She was stubborn, hard headed, and selfish, and had a celebrity complex that made her think that she could do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. But in truth, she was the only person who knew how to live freely and in the moment and was always happy, and I regret that I didn't realize this until she passed. So I would say thank you to my grandmother for always reminding me to live in the present and not be afraid to pursue what I love.


Who would you call, and why?

And more importantly, a question to you as well as myself - why aren't you calling them right now?