We all have heard the saying, ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.’ However, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Looking back on my own experiences, I instantly go back to elementary school. I was the new kid at school. I made a friend immediately when she invited me to her birthday party. I’ll admit I did go home super excited to have a new friend and thought I was so cool. While I had some awesome friends in school, I reflect back on if I was a good friend. Did I cut in line and hurt someone’s feelings? Did I run away from a girl at recess who just wanted to play four square? Did I laugh when the boys got in trouble? The answer is yes to all of the above. My actions hurt those kids even though I didn’t use my words. At the time, I didn’t think twice about my actions and if they hurt someone.

Picture this; it’s a Friday night in the Xavier parking lot. The football game just got over and your friends are planning on going to someone’s house to hang out and eat a skillet cookie. However, one friend isn’t invited and the secret plans are hush hush. I still went. While eating the cookie with extra ice cream, I didn’t think twice about the friend I left behind. Would you have done the same? I never saw a problem with leaving anyone out until it was me.

Most of us have been in the situation where we were invited to something when our friends were not. If you were me, you would choose to go anyway, which would hurt your friends. Or your friends didn’t fit in the stands next to you and you didn’t care. Admit it, we all have done things to hurt others and not given it a second thought.

High school has taught me it is not up to me to decide when I have hurt someone. We may think our small actions have no meaning, but in reality they mean more than we know. Just because I wouldn’t be hurt by walking to class alone doesn’t mean other people are okay with it. We need to think twice about our actions and not just assume who we hurt is fine. Just because something wouldn’t hurt you doesn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt someone else. Think twice before your next action, not after.