this i believe essay second chances

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32 “This I Believe” Essay

The history of ‘this i believe’.

by Tanya Matthews

This I Believe is an exciting media project that invites individuals from all walks of life to write about and discuss the core beliefs that guide their daily lives. They share these statements in weekly broadcasts on NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered .

The series is based on the 1950’s radio program This I Believe , hosted by acclaimed journalist Edward R. Murrow. Each day, some 39-million Americans gathered by their radios to hear compelling essays from the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, Helen Keller and Harry Truman as well as corporate leaders, cab drivers, scientists and secretaries — anyone able to distill into a few minutes the guiding principles by which they lived. Their words brought comfort and inspiration to a country worried about the Cold War, McCarthyism and racial division.

Eventually, the radio series became a cultural phenomenon. Eighty-five leading newspapers printed a weekly column based on This I Believe . A collection of essays published in 1952 sold 300,000 copies — second only to the Bible that year. The series was translated and broadcast around the globe on the Voice of America. A book of essays translated into Arabic sold 30,000 copies in just three days.

[The NPR series This I Believe can be read and heard here . In addition, the website and organization This I Believe houses thousands of essays written by famous people, such as the ones mentioned above, and everyday people like you and me.]

As a college student in 2020, you are faced with turbulent politics, socioeconomic issues, and ethical dilemmas that will challenge you to take a stand and contribute to the local, national, and global conversation around you. The purpose of this writing task is not to persuade you to agree on the same beliefs. Rather, it is to encourage you to begin the much more difficult task of developing respect for beliefs different from your own. Fifty years ago, Edward R. Murrow’s project struck such a chord with millions of Americans. It can do so again today…with you.

Video Resources for Generating Ideas

Dan gediman on writing a “this i believe essay”.

Read Cecelia Munoz’s essay “Getting Angry Can Be a Good Thing” referred to in the previous video here .

“This I Believe” Essay with Animation

“This I Believe” Essay Ideas

Prewriting Activity

1) analyze others’ statements.

Consider the following statements, written in response to the question What Have You Learned About Life? Highlight any sentences that resonate with you. Talk about them with a partner or group, explaining why. 1. I’ve learned that when I wave to people in the country, they stop what they are doing and wave back. – Age 9 2. I’ve learned that if you want to cheer yourself up, you should try cheering someone else up. – Age 14 3. I’ve learned that although it’s hard to admit it, I’m secretly glad my parents are strict with me. – Age 15 4. I’ve learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it. – Age 39 5. I’ve learned that there are people who love you dearly but just don’t know how to show it. – Age 42 6. I’ve learned that you can make someone’s day by simply sending them a little note. – Age 44 7. I’ve learned that the greater a person’s sense of guilt, the greater his or her need to cast blame on others. – Age 46 8. I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. – Age 48 9. I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you miss them terribly after they die. – Age 53 10. I’ve learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life. – Age 58 11. I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. – Age 62 12. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with kindness, I usually make the right decision. – Age 66 13. I’ve learned that it pays to believe in miracles. And to tell the truth, I’ve seen several. – Age 75 14. I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. – Age 82 15. I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch—holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. – Age 85 16. I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. – Age 92

2) Compose Your Own Statement

Write down a sentence that expresses what YOU have learned about life. Maybe it is similar to one of the statements above; maybe it’s completely different. Whatever it is, write it down.

3) Freewrit e

Now free-write about your sentence. Include at least two examples / experiences that you have had that support why you think this way.

Personal Statement/Philosophy: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Why do you believe in this statement? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name two experiences that you had that would support the statement: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What does this say about yourself or your personality? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ After your life experience, how have you come to the conclusion that this should be your statement? How have your beliefs changed, if at all? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How has the event effected your relationship with a person, place, or object? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How does your statement apply to you today? (How you view yourself & society) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAYS

Sample #1: america’s beauty is in its diversity.

written by Alaa El-Saad,  high school student,  as heard on NPR’s Tell Me More (2009)

America is built on the idea of freedom, and there is no exception for Muslim women. I believe in the freedom of religion and speech. But mostly, I believe it’s OK to be different, and to stand up for who and what you are. So I believe in wearing the hijab.

The hijab is a religious head covering, like a scarf. I am Muslim and keeping my head covered is a sign of maturity and respect toward my religion and to Allah’s will. To be honest, I also like to wear it to be different. I don’t usually like to do what everyone else is doing. I want to be an individual, not just part of the crowd. But when I first wore it, I was also afraid of the reaction that I’d get at school.

I decided on my own that sixth grade was the time I should start wearing the hijab. I was scared about what the kids would say or even do to me. I thought they might make fun of me, or even be scared of me and pull off my headscarf. Kids at that age usually like to be all the same, and there’s little or no acceptance for being different.

On the first day of school, I put all those negative thoughts behind my back and walked in with my head held high. I was holding my breath a little, but inside I was also proud to be a Muslim, proud to be wearing the hijab, proud to be different.

I was wrong about everything I thought the kids would say or even do to me. I actually met a lot of people because of wearing my head covering. Most of the kids would come and ask me questions—respectfully—about the hijab, and why I wore it.

I did hear some kid was making fun of me, but there was one girl—she wasn’t even in my class, we never really talked much—and she stood up for me, and I wasn’t even there! I made a lot of new friends that year, friends that I still have until this very day, five years later.

Yes, I’m different, but everyone is different here, in one way or another. This is the beauty of America. I believe in what America is built on: all different religions, races and beliefs. Different everything.

Sample #2: The Essentials to Happiness

written by Alexxandra Schuman, high school student, as heard on The Bob Edwards Show (2013)

As a child, I was generally happy; singing and dancing to my favorite songs; smiling and laughing with my friends and family. But as far back as second grade, I noticed a “darkness,” about me. I didn’t enjoy engaging in many things. I didn’t relate to my peers in elementary school because they appeared so happy, and I didn’t have that ability to achieve happiness so easily.

In middle school things in my life began to get even worse. I began withdrawing from everything I once enjoyed; swimming, tennis, family. I hated going to sleep knowing I had to wake up to another day. I was always tired. Everything was horrible. Finally, midway through eighth grade, I was told I had a chemical imbalance; diagnosed with clinical depression and put on medication. It took months for me to feel the effects of the medication.

When I began to feel happy again, is when I realized that I had to take the responsibility for getting better myself, rather than relying on medication and therapy alone. Aristotle said, “To live happily is an inward power of the soul,” and I believe that this quote describes what I had to do to achieve happiness. Happiness is a journey. Everyone seems to need different things to be happy. But I believe people are blinded from what truly makes one happy.

Growing up, we’re encouraged to be successful in life; but how is success defined? Success and happiness are imagined now as having a lot of money. It is so untrue. Recently I went to Costa Rica and visited the small town of El Roble. I spent the day with a nine-year old girl named Marilyn. She took me to her house to meet her parents. It was obvious that they were not rich; living in a small house with seven children. The house was cluttered but full of life. Those who have decided that success and happiness comes from having money and a big house would be appalled at how utterly happy this family from El Roble is. People say that seeing things like that make you appreciate what you have, but for me, it made me envy them for being so happy without all the things I have.

“The essentials to happiness are something to love, something to do, and something to hope for,” a quote from William Blake sums up what I believe people need to realize to be truly happy in life. People need love; I feel they need their family and their friends more than anything in the world. People need work to do, something to make them feel they are making a difference in the world. People need to know that more good is to come in the future, so they continue to live for “now” instead of constantly worrying about the bad that could come. And most importantly people need to know that happiness is not something that happens overnight. Love and hope is happiness.

Sample #3: Find a Good Frog

written by Delia Motavalli, high school student, as heard on The Bob Edwards Show (2013)

I believe in finding a good frog. It seems that all throughout childhood, we are taught to look for a happily ever after. “And they all lived happily ever after”; isn’t that the conclusion to many children’s films? When I was a kid I always thought of that as magical; but now really it just seems unrealistic. And it teaches us that what we want is a fairytale like they have in the storybooks. We all want to be Cinderella who gets swept off her feet by the hot prince; we want to live in the royal castle, right? But I don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing for us to seek. Now I’m not saying I believe in being pessimistic, but I do believe in being realistic; it’s something I got from my mom.

My mother and I always have our best conversations in the rain. We sit in the car, neither of us wanting to brave the rain to get to the house. So we sit. We watch droplets race down the windshield, listen to the rain strike the roof of her little blue Honda, and feel the heater on full-blast rushing at our feet (just the way we like it). I don’t know why, but sitting in the car, we always talk more than normal. There was one rainy day when my mom told me something that is going to stick with me forever. Earlier that day she and my dad had been arguing about something; I can’t remember what. So she said, “Don’t spend your life looking for Prince Charming. Instead, find yourself a really good frog.”

At the time, I found this thought really disheartening. Who wants to think that you’ll never find Prince Charming? You’ll never get to be Cinderella? Another thought that struck my mind: if my mom says there’s no Prince Charming, then what’s my dad? A frog? I asked her, and she replied with, “Of course! If he were Prince Charming, he wouldn’t snore, would be able to cook, and we would never argue. But you know what? He’s a damn good frog.” Of course, being young, I didn’t think of the meaning behind what she was saying. I was too busy thinking of it literally, visualizing my mom as a princess and my dad in frog form.

But a few years later, I understand the value of my mom’s words. You can’t expect everything to be perfect. Let’s be completely honest; if you wait your whole life for your prince with flowing hair, statuesque features, and a white horse, you’re going to be lonely. I think that the point of finding a good frog is you accept something that’s great, flaws and all. It’s so easy to be picky. You can find the one tiny thing that’s wrong, and that one tiny thing is what you can’t get your mind off of. But in life, we can’t afford to wait years in vain for perfection. So I think that a good frog, an amazing frog, the best frog you can find is what we’re really looking for in this world. Don’t laze through life waiting for a happily ever after, because I don’t think you’ll be very happy with the outcome.

Examples from the ‘This I Believe’ Website

Be Cool to the Pizza Dude by Sarah Adams

They Lived Their Faith by Charles Henry Parrish

Returning to What’s Natural by Amelia Baxter-Stoltzfus

The Birthright of Human Dignity by Will Thomas

Remembering All The Boys by Elvia Bautista

I Am Still The Greatest by Muhammad Ali

A Goal Of Service To Humankind by Anthony Fauci

My Life Is Better by Abraham

Give Me a Waffle by Brenda

The Little Things by Sophie Crossley

You can also browse thousands more This I Believe essays by theme .

Prefer to Listen to Get Inspiration?

Check out This I Believe’s Podcast Series

4) Drafting

Assignment guidelines + suggestions and tips for drafting.

1. While the examples you’ve been given can serve as a model, it is essential that each of you write about a personal belief or philosophy that you feel strongly about. 2. Tell a story. Personal experiences are the corner stone of a good essay. Your story doesn’t have to be a heart breaker or even a major event, but it must be something that has affected how you think, feel, and act. List your personal experiences that you intend to use as evidence below: 3. Be concise. Avoid repetition. This essay should be between 500 – 650 words. When read aloud, it should take roughly four minutes. 4. Name your belief. It is essential that you can name your belief in a sentence or two. Focus on one belief only. This is your thesis. Write it here: 5. Be positive. Avoid preaching or persuading. You aren’t trying to change the way others think or act. Write about what you believe, not what you don’t believe. 6. Use the first person. Speak for yourself. Avoid using we or you. 7. Let your voice shine. Use language that sounds like you. Read it aloud as your revise. Keep making changes until your essay sounds like you and captures the essence of your belief.

5) Peer Review

Once you have written your first draft, arrange for your essay to be edited by a peer, using the following Peer-Editing Checklist: Writer’s Name: ________________________________________________ Peer Editor’s Name: ________________________________________________ Use your PENCIL or PEN (NOT red or green) to make corrections. Remember, this essay is a work in progress. You are not done writing! Look for ways to improve what you’ve already written. Tick each step if it has been completed. _____ 1. Read the paper backwards, one sentence at a time. Check for spelling errors. Use a dictionary, a friend, or a spell checker to find the correct spelling. _____ 2. Check for capitalized proper nouns and the first word of each sentence. _____ 3. Skip a line between each paragraph. _____ 4. Every sentence should have end punctuation. _____ 5. Check commas. Are they only used for compound sentences, a list of items, an introductory word or phrase, direct address, setting off interruptions, separating adjectives, or in dates? Do you need to add commas? Make sure you do not have commas separating complete sentences (i.e. comma splice errors that create run-on sentences). _____ 6. Apostrophes are used only for contractions and to show ownership. _____ 7. The use of more complex punctuation (dashes, hyphens, semi-colons, parentheses, etc.) is done correctly. _____ 8. Have you used commonly mixed pairs of words correctly? Check these: they’re/their/there, your/you’re, it’s/its, a/an, to/too/two, are/our/hour, and others. _____ 9. Read the paper backwards one sentence at a time. Check for sentence fragments and run-ons and correct them. _____ 10. Did you stay in present tense (such as is, am, do, take, know, etc.) or past tense (such as was, were, did, took, knew, etc.) throughout the entire essay? _____ 11. Did you stay in first person (I, me, my, we, us, our) or third person (he, him, she, her, they, them, their) throughout the entire essay? _____ 12. Was there adequate use of specific details and sensory details? Were the details clear and relevant to the statement? _____ 13. Is the overall purpose/philosophy clear? _____ 14. Does the conclusion make you go, “Wow!” “Cool!” “I never thought about it that way,” or any other similar reaction? Other suggestions for the overall content of the piece: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This I Believe by Tanya Matthews is licensed by CC-BY-SA

“This I Believe” Essay Copyright © 2020 by Liza Long; Amy Minervini; and Joel Gladd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The Elusive Second Chance: Is Redemption a Right or a Privilege? - David Newman Ph.D. | Aug 2022

Author of  Identities and Inequalities, McGraw Hill

Americans love a good second chance story. It’s inspiring when someone treacherous, flawed, and seemingly defeated turns their life around. But are second chances available to all who seek them, as our “everybody deserves a second chance” cultural rhetoric implies? 

I have been studying second chances for nearly a decade (Newman, 2020). What I have found is that second chances reflect the paradoxical and parallel existence of two widespread but contradictory cultural narratives about our ability (or inability) to change. On the one hand, there is the optimistic second chance narrative that emphasizes the promise of redemption. On the other hand, we have the less publicized but equally powerful permanent stigma narrative that emphasizes the durability of shame that individuals who somehow “break the rules” must endure. The incongruous coexistence of these two narratives can be seen, for instance, in a literary tradition that simultaneously celebrates books like A Christmas Carol (about redemption and second chances) and The Scarlet Letter (about permanent stigma and disgrace).  

Despite the feel-good cultural message that surrounds second chances, and the myriad real-world examples of people who have successfully taken advantage of them, the permanent stigma narrative endures. Punitive zero-tolerance policies, a perpetually vigilant Internet that retains every character blemish and misbehavior, laws that limit the residential and occupational opportunities of ex-felons, and entrenched community stereotypes about certain types of malefactors provide clear examples of how the permanent stigma narrative has become institutionalized.  

People surely want second chances—expect them, plead for them, receive them, and try to make the best of the opportunities they provide. But while presented rhetorically in everyday life as a universal right, the second chance experience is actually an earned privilege enjoyed only by those deemed to have the requisite “qualifications” to render them sufficiently deserving. When we begin to think of second chances this way—as a privilege, not a right—they become potentially unjust and troublesome. Judgments of a person’s deservedness are always a function of both individual traits and social identifiers. Hence, second chance opportunities can be influenced by the stratified components of our social selves that regularly affect our everyday experiences: chiefly race, ethnicity, gender, social class, and sexuality. These identifiers—and the pre-judged impressions they create—may be just as influential in the decision to “grant” a second chance as the “unfortunate” behavior itself.  

For instance, drug scares that primarily involve poor people of color (such as the “crack epidemic” of the 1980s) have typically been treated with contempt. The media has often framed them as examples of individual misbehavior and moral breakdown. The cultural and legal responses tend to be punitive rather than redemptive. Yet drug scares that are thought to principally affect working-class or middle-class whites (the current opioid epidemic, for example) are frequently described as “diseases of despair” (Case & Deaton, 2015), evoking a considerably more therapeutic and compassionate outlook: 

America has never been able to decide whether addicts are victims or criminals, whether addiction is an illness or a crime . . . Some addicts get pitied, others get blamed. . . . White addicts get their suffering witnessed. Addicts of color get punished. Celebrity addicts get posh rehab with equine therapy. Poor addicts get hard time. Someone carrying crack gets five years in prison, while someone driving drunk gets a night in jail, even though drunk driving kills more people every year than cocaine (Jamison, 2018, p. 63). 

Gender can likewise influence our desire to forgive and our judgment of deservedness. Consider the divergent arcs of two Silicon Valley executives—one male and one female—who faced legal action in the past few years. Both were extremely wealthy (a trait typically associated with second-chance privilege), yet their experiences were vastly different. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, was charged with massive securities fraud. Later, he faced accusations of sexual misconduct and angry blowback from public health officials for spreading COVID misinformation. But to date, Musk has not suffered. He is still running his companies, is on the cusp of buying Twitter for $44 billion, is considered to be the richest person on Earth, and even hosted Saturday Night Live. It’s not that Musk received a second chance; he hasn’t even needed one.   

Then there is Elizabeth Holmes. She was the founder of Theranos, a now-defunct blood-testing company. Forbes magazine once named Holmes the youngest and wealthiest self-made female billionaire in America. Like Musk, she was charged with fraud after revelations that she had lied about the company’s ability to perform hundreds of medical tests with a single drop of blood. In 2022, a jury convicted her of four counts of fraud, and she now faces the possibility of a 20-year prison sentence. Many have called her the most hated woman in America. She’s been vilified for single-handedly setting female entrepreneurs’ progress toward financial parity back 50 years. She continues to cast a shadow of skepticism over every other woman seeking to start a healthcare tech company (Griffith, 2021). Her media presence includes no Saturday Night Live gigs, just an incriminating documentary and a scathing Hulu limited series. 

 Musk’s and Holmes’s transgressions may not have been equally destructive. However, their stories (as well as those of people from different races or classes) reflect the quintessential cultural paradox of the second chance—a concept that is simple in its rhetoric and knotty in its implementation. It is a concept that represents the kind-hearted pinnacle of our shared hopes for renewal, while at the same time it reminds us of the sometimes unforgiving ways we determine others’ deservedness and our darkest suspicions about the intransigence of human nature.  

Questions for Discussion: 

Can you think of a time in your life when you gave someone a second chance? What factors led you to conclude that they deserved such an opportunity? 

Why do you think the idea of second chances is more appealing than the actual provision of them? 

In what ways does the assessment of second chance deservedness work its way into law and public policy? 

References: 

Case, A., & Deaton, A. (2015). Rising morbidity and mortality in midlife among White Non-Hispanic Americans in the 21st century. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112, 15078-83. 

Griffith, E. (2021). They still live in the shadows of Theranos’s Elizabeth Holmes. The New York Times. November 14. Retrieved June 20, 2022 from www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/technology/theranos-elizabeth-holmes.html   

Jamison, L. (2018). The recovering: Intoxication and its aftermath (Kindle Edition). New York: Little Brown. 

Newman, D. M. (2019). A culture of second chances: The promise, practice, and price of starting over in everyday life. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. 

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Why I’ll Always Believe In The Power Of Second Chances

• https://thoughtcatalog.com/?p=603663

What if you were given a second chance at everything you’ve ever done in your life, would you take it? I would. Not because I screwed things up the first time (even though I did a couple of times) but because I truly believe in the power of second chances. I believe in second chances more than I believe in first chances.

I believe that when life presents you with the same scenario twice, it is giving you a chance to do things differently, to recreate the perfect scenario you always wanted. A second chance is sometimes a miracle in disguise. It is not déjà vu, it is simply a gift God handed to you to change your life around.

How many times have you met someone you didn’t like at first but ended up being friends later because you realized the first impression was awfully wrong? How many relationships and friendships were restored because the second time around things were different and made more sense? How many milestones have you achieved at work when your boss gave you a second chance to do things right after a major flop? How many songs have you hated at first but ended up loving after listening to them a couple of times?

It is the irony of life, you think the first time is the only time, you think the first time is the best time, you think the first time is the most important time . We’re so obsessed with getting things right from the first time that we often give up on things and sometimes ourselves too easily when things don’t work out. We don’t even give ourselves a second chance.

Wouldn’t you want someone to give you a second chance ? Wouldn’t you want to rewind certain moments in your life and do things differently? Even though I have few regrets in my life, I’ve never regretted giving someone or something a second chance, I always ended up either learning something crucial from it, or gaining a dear friend. Sometimes things make more sense the second time around. 

People change, you change and the universe changes, if we keep ourselves confined to first chances only, we will truly miss out on some of the most beautiful things in life.

I can honestly say everything in my life was better the second time around, whether at work or in my relationships. Second chances teach you patience, wisdom, forgiveness and courage-and it is hard not to make a better decision when you have so much grace.

Second chances are a gift from the universe, you get a second chance to be with someone you love, you get a second chance to prove yourself at work, you get a second chance to be a better person, or a better friend or a better parent.

You get a second chance to get close to God, you get a second chance to start a new career, you get a second chance to study something else that you love more, you get a second chance to move to another city. Life is always presenting you with second chances because this is where the magic happens.

We don’t have to wait for a near death experience or the loss of loved to believe in second chances, or learn that we are about to lose someone to finally tell them how we truly feel about them.

Give yourself a second chance, give your parents a second chance, give your friends a second chance, give your passion a second chance, give your love a second chance, give happiness a second chance and give life a second chance.

Writing makes me feel alive. Words heal me.

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Nothing terrifies me more than being so close to someone and then watching them become a stranger again.

Through a series of letters, author Rania Naim examines past and present relationships. If you are moving on from any kind of relationship, this book is your new best friend.

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Forgiveness

4 reasons to give someone a second chance, new research on how forgiveness can actually benefit you..

Posted August 2, 2016 | Reviewed by Lybi Ma

• The Importance of Forgiveness
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When you’ve been hurt, betrayed , or disappointed by someone you care about, it’s hard to imagine giving that person another chance. Yet forgiveness is a value that is fundamental to human relationships. Giving up on people because they’ve let you down, whether it’s your favorite athlete , a political figure, or your best friend, seems antithetical to that value.

Even though we’re taught to forgive and to give someone an opportunity to make up for past wrongs, not everyone is capable of doing so. In a recent study, University of Bremen psychologist Katja Hanke teamed up with Christin-Melanie Vauclar of the University of Lisbon on a massive analysis of nearly 42,000 participants from 30 countries on cross-cultural variations in the personality trait of forgiveness . Presumably, in countries that emphasize the virtue of forgiveness, people would be more likely to espouse this trait within their own personalities.

As Hanke and Vauclar point out, we tend to think of forgiveness in interpersonal terms: Someone steps on your foot and it really hurts, but to the best of your knowledge, it wasn’t an intentional act. When the person apologizes, you accept it and don’t hold a grudge or strike back. However, forgiveness also has a larger intergroup context. According to the researchers, “Forgiveness seems to be a critical element in breaking cycles of counterviolence in postconflict societies” (p. 217). In other words, perhaps forgiveness might lead to healing and reconciliation among nations.

From the level of the individual to the level of the society, forgiveness seems to make a difference in the preservation of harmony. Analyzing the data from 168 separate studies, Hanke and Vauclar examined the relative ranking of forgiveness on a list of 18 values. Forgiveness ranked eighth overall, beaten out by virtues such as honesty (#1), responsibility (#2), and loving (#3), but it outranked imaginative (#17) and obedient (#18). (The U.S. ranked #4 in citing forgiveness as a value, and Egypt was #1. Poland, Chile, India, and Israel came in at the bottom of the list.)

The authors proposed that country-level factors that influence the espousing of forgiveness as a value were related to almost Maslow-like qualities, such as feelings of stability and safety. These “postmaterialistic” qualities are aided and abetted by time away from conflict. In countries with high levels of concern about safety due to the presence of conflict (such as Israel), forgiveness may fall behind values that reflect the need for protection.

Once a culture becomes more forgiving, there are payoffs for its citizens: As shown in the analysis across studies, there is a positive relationship between the average well-being of people in a culture and the extent to which they value forgiveness. Simply put, being forgiving seems to relate to being happier . Whether happier people are more forgiving (and happier in the first place because their countries are stable) or whether forgiveness leads to happiness and stability can’t be answered by this correlational study. Whatever the causal chain, though, forgiveness and happiness seem linked.

Now we get to the reasons forgiveness—and the associated willingness to give second chances—can benefit you.

With any luck, you live in a culture that places forgiveness high on the value hierarchy. Accidentally bumping into a stranger in the street won’t lead to insults or physical assault, and everyone will feel better as a result of an apology and display of humanity. What else can second chances do for you? These 4 reasons to forgive someone should help to convince you:

• That factor of subjective well-being . You feel happier when you forgive someone else. The cross-national study supported what research on individuals has shown, and suggests that being magnanimous pays off in terms of your own emotional benefits.
• People can change . Additional research on why you should give second chances focuses on the idea that personality isn’t set in stone . People can learn from their mistakes—and when you give them a second opportunity, you allow them to demonstrate this.
• It’s practical and saves emotional energy. You gave your mechanic the job of fixing a defective valve and now it’s broken again. You could hire someone else to fix the fix, but that person will know less than the mechanic who tried the first time. Similarly, your previous romantic partner may have done things that caused you to break up, but when you start with someone new, you’re back to square one. Once your anger subsides, pushing the “reset” button on the first partner may just give you greater insight and appreciation for that relationship.
• You’d like people to treat you the same way. Turn the tables and imagine that it’s you who needs the second chance. Wouldn’t you feel better if you were given an opportunity to try again? Whether it’s the car you’ve been hired to fix or the relationship that took a turn for the worse due to your own mistakes, it’s nice to know that someone is willing to give you a chance to redeem yourself.

When we have the opportunity to show forgiveness to those we interact with, we should: It can improve our outlook on ourselves and the world.

Hanke, K., and Vauclair, C. (2016). Investigating the human value 'forgiveness' across 30 countries: A cross-cultural meta-analytical approach. Cross-Cultural Research: The Journal Of Comparative Social Science , 50(3), 215-230. doi:10.1177/1069397116641085

Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. , is a Professor Emerita of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her latest book is The Search for Fulfillment.

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Home — Application Essay — National Universities — A Second Chance: A Transformative Experience

A Second Chance: A Transformative Experience

• University: DePaul University

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Words: 458 |

Published: Jul 18, 2018

Words: 458 | Pages: 1 | 3 min read

In life, we often yearn for a second chance—a moment to rewrite our story, to overcome setbacks, and to pursue our aspirations with renewed vigor. This essay delves into the profound concept of a 'second chance,' exploring its significance, impact, and the transformative power it holds in our lives.

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Our daily lives are characterized by incidences, changes, perks, and disappointments, and each morning we wait for fate to unfurl. Sometimes an event occurs that changes our whole outlook on life and gives us a new perspective to live by. An event such as this eternally transformed my life and gave me a reason to forever strive for the best.

In autumn of 2003, I received a dreadful shock when the doctors said that my mother might have a brain tumor. Suddenly, her persistent headaches and haunting depression made sense. I found myself unable to digest the news, unable to fathom a day without her. It was because of this dreadful fear that my grades descended, and I gradually isolated myself from everything and everyone, forcing myself to forget the fact that some malignant tumor was slowly killing my mother. As the excruciating months passed by, my mother was given one medication after another, but her condition only worsened.

Finally, the doctors declared that an MRI was necessary to diagnose my mother's headaches, but the thought of this final solution threw my family into a tailspin. Fearing the worst but acknowledging the fact that we needed answers, we prayed fervently that the results would not prove fatal. A week after the MRI, I slowly walked home, desperately trying to steel myself for the news. But as I stepped into my house, I saw my mother smiling at me, and all my worries vanished. The doctors examined my mother's headaches further, but the prognosis was good.

This experience not only made me aware of my emotional strength, but also helped me to realize just how dramatically a single event can affect an individual. I had never valued life as much as I do today. I am forever thankful to God for giving my mother another chance in life, and I do not dare to take anything for granted. I know that there are no guarantees in life, and I strive to approach every day of my life with an eye towards maximizing its potential. I am thankful for the wonderful blessings I have been given, and now spend less time focusing on what I do not have. The threat to my mother's life showed me just how important each and every moment in life is.

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To this day, I look at every opportunity as a prize. I earned straight As in all of my classes last year, and I continue to push myself in every aspect of my life. I now realize that a second chance comes along once in a lifetime, and feel that those who are given this profound gift should make it their highest priority to make the most of it.

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Recognizing the second chance act.

A promise of new beginnings

(FBOP) - On April 9, 2008, the Second Chance Act was signed into law. Ten years later, in 2017, April was designated as Second Chance Month. President Biden said in his Proclamation of Second Chance Month 2024 , "America was founded on the promise of new beginnings." In the spirit of new beginnings, the Second Chance Act codified into law exactly what it sounds like: a concept that everyone deserves a second chance to make their lives right, even individuals who are, or were, imprisoned.

For perspective, over 70 million Americans have a criminal record and, of those sentenced to prison, over 650,000 leave State and Federal prisons on an annual basis. In the past, it was common for these individuals to continue being justice-involved after their release. However, sixteen years ago, the Second Chance Act aimed to reduce recidivism, increase public safety and improve the outcome and quality of life of individuals reentering society after incarceration. By providing support and resources in four areas: jobs, housing, substance abuse/mental health treatment and families, former adults in custody are more likely to succeed in their life after prison.

More recently, in 2018, the First Step Act was signed reauthorizing and expanding the Second Chance Act, including many of the grant programs that were initially authorized ten years prior along with the FBOP's pilot program to provide early release to elderly prisoners. Additionally, the FBOP was required to develop policies for wardens to enter into recidivism-reducing partnerships with nonprofit and other private organizations, including faith-based and community-based organizations, to deliver programming designed to reduce recidivism.

The Second Chance Act, and its subsequent Reauthorization Act of 2018, affords individuals opportunities to rebuild their lives after serving their sentences, ultimately allowing them to become proud citizens and good neighbors.

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Guest Essay

The New Movie ‘Civil War’ Matters for Reasons Different Than You Think

By Stephen Marche

Mr. Marche is the author of “The Next Civil War.”

“Not one man in America wanted the Civil War, or expected or intended it,” Henry Adams, grandson of John Quincy Adams, declared at the beginning of the 20th century. What may seem inevitable to us in hindsight — the horrifying consequences of a country in political turmoil, given to violence and rived by slavery — came as a shock to many of the people living through it. Even those who anticipated it hardly seemed prepared for its violent magnitude. In this respect at least, the current division that afflicts the United States seems different from the Civil War. If there ever is a second civil war, it won’t be for lack of imagining it.

The most prominent example arrives this week in the form of an action blockbuster titled “Civil War.” The film, written and directed by Alex Garland, presents a scenario in which the government is at war with breakaway states and the president has been, in the eyes of part of the country, delegitimized. Some critics have denounced the project, arguing that releasing the film in this particular election year is downright dangerous. They assume that even just talking about a future national conflict could make it a reality, and that the film risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is wrong.

Not only does this criticism vastly overrate the power of the written word or the moving image, but it looks past the real forces sending the United States toward ever-deeper division: inequality; a hyperpartisan duopoly; and an antiquated and increasingly dysfunctional Constitution. Mere stories are not powerful enough to change those realities. But these stories can wake us up to the threats we are facing. The greatest political danger in America isn’t fascism, and it isn’t wokeness. It’s inertia. America needs a warning.

The reason for a surge in anxiety over a civil war is obvious. The Republican National Committee, now under the control of the presumptive nominee, has asked job candidates if they believe the 2020 election was stolen — an obvious litmus test. Extremism has migrated into mainstream politics, and certain fanciful fictions have migrated with it. In 1997, a group of Texas separatists were largely considered terrorist thugs and their movement, if it deserved that title, fizzled out after a weeklong standoff with the police. Just a few months ago, Texas took the federal government to court over control of the border. Armed militias have camped out along the border. That’s not a movie trailer. That’s happening.

But politicians, pundits and many voters seem not to be taking the risk of violence seriously enough. There is an ingrained assumption, resulting from the country’s recent history of global dominance coupled with a kind of organic national optimism, that in the United States everything ultimately works out. While right-wing journalists and fiction writers have been predicting a violent end to the Republic for generations — one of the foundational documents of neo-Nazism and white supremacy is “The Turner Diaries” from 1978, a novel that imagines an American revolution that leads to a race war — their writings seem more like wish fulfillment than like warnings.

When I attended prepper conventions as research for my book, I found their visions of a collapsed American Republic suspiciously attractive: It’s a world where everybody grows his own food, gathers with family by candlelight, defends his property against various unpredictable threats and relies on his wits. Their preferred scenario resembled, more than anything, a sort of postapocalyptic “Little House on the Prairie.”

We’ve seen more recent attempts to grapple with the possibility of domestic conflict in the form of sober-minded political analysis. Now the vision of a civil war has come to movie screens. We’re no longer just contemplating a political collapse, we’re seeing its consequences unfold in IMAX.

“Civil War” doesn’t dwell on the causes of the schism. Its central characters are journalists and the plot dramatizes the reality of the conflict they’re covering: the fear, violence and instability that a civil war would inflict on the lives of everyday Americans.

That’s a good thing. Early on when I was promoting my book, I remember an interviewer asking me whether a civil war wouldn’t be that terrible an option; whether it would help clear the air. The naïveté was shocking and, to me, sickening. America lost roughly 2 percent of its population in the Civil War. Contemplating the horrors of a civil war — whether as a thought experiment or in a theatrical blockbuster — helps counteract a reflexive sense of American exceptionalism. It can happen here. In fact, it already has.

One of the first people to predict the collapse of the Republic was none other than George Washington. “I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations,” he warned in his Farewell Address. “This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature.” This founder of the country devoted much of one of his most important addresses, at the apex of his popularity, to warning about the exact situation the United States today finds itself in: a hyper-partisanship that puts party over country and risks political collapse. Washington knew what civil war looked like.

For those Americans of the 1850s who couldn’t imagine a protracted, bloody civil war, the reason is simple enough: They couldn’t bear to. They refused to see the future they were part of building. The future came anyway.

The Americans of 2024 can easily imagine a civil war. The populace faces a different question and a different crisis: Can we forestall the future we have foreseen? No matter the likelihood of that future, the first step in its prevention is imagining how it might come to pass, and agreeing that it would be a catastrophe.

Stephen Marche is the author of “The Next Civil War.”

Source photographs by Yasuhide Fumoto, Richard Nowitz and stilllifephotographer, via Getty Images.

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