ABSTRACT
Many students used Assignment 4, on “Shattered Assumptions,” to explore
whether they should forgive those who hurt or abandoned them. Beth wrote about
her anger toward a grandfather who had always disappointed her. Confiding this
anger to her mother, Beth was surprised by the advice she received. “‘Don’t
waste your time being angry when you should forgive.’ I stared at her in shock
for a few seconds, and I finally felt those tears come out from the depths where
I knew they were. It is embarrassing for me to cry in front of people, even my
own mother, but it felt so good.” Javarro’s admiration for his father changed to
bitter disillusionment when his father left his family, largely because of a drug
addiction. “All my life he had taught me that a man should always provide for
his family, regardless of the circumstances. I soon realized this was not the case
for all families.” After a near-fatal heart attack, his father promised that he
would never again hurt his family. “I must admit that he has been a man of his
word so far, and today he is living a healthy and successful life.”
