When we are young, we are inevitably influenced by various ideas and always think we are correct. After we become mature, we always feel regretful for our past naughty behavior and naive ideas. It’s quite interesting to record them because these seemingly shaming events reflect our growth. I gave a few people a chance to formally apologize to their moms for these types of events.

Aviel Rahmanim, senior in LAS

“When I was young, I often rebelled against my mother’s suggestions. For example, she once told me to stop spending time with one of my friends because she thought he was a bad influence, but I disobeyed her advice. Looking back, I now know that she was right about this friend. So now that I have matured, I understand that everything she made me do was for my own benefit. As a result, I want to say sorry to her for all the times I disregarded her recommendations.”

Jiaqi Chen, senior in LAS

“My personality was once rash and naive, and so this is what I want to apologize to my mother about. When I first traveled to the United States, I felt amazingly free and relaxed because I was out from under my parents’ control. I usually ignored my mother’s advice, and I was easily annoyed by her steady string of questions about my daily activities. I was a habitual quarreler over the way she asked me questions, and I regarded her care as a form of oppression and control. However, when I returned home during a college holiday, I realized that this was just her way of expressing concern. Her string of problems is based on her unfamiliarity with the United States and her worries about my new life. So, my apologies Mom. Now, I understand where you were coming from.”

Anyu Yang, sophomore in ACES

“I’m deeply regretful for my willful behavior as a high school student. When I was younger, I suffered from a host of problems relating to my eating habits. I was often reluctant to eat just after I wake up, because it makes me feel ill. To prevent my mom from finding out and criticizing me, I made a habit of secretly disposing of half my breakfast when my mom went upstairs to the bathroom. For the whole three years of high school, I did this every day. However, one day, I found out that my mom had bought five cookbooks addressing nutritional balance, and surprisingly enough, I found my appetite. In fact, I started to eat most of the meals she prepared using these books. Now, I realize how much time my mom devoted to strengthening my body with a healthy breakfast. Perhaps, she read and learned the recipe the night before and took an hour to make it the next day. However, capriciously, I ignored her devotion and love. Most regretfully, I now know that my mom knew about my habits and didn’t say anything. Sorry mom, and I won’t do anything like that again.”

Meha Patel, senior in LAS

“I think the biggest thing I realize now is that coming into college, I really wanted this opportunity to be independent and figure things out on my own. Because of this, I would disregard what my mother told me and not take her advice to heart. However, I have learned that even though I wanted to be independent from my parents, my mom was always there just trying to be supportive and involved with my life. I should have appreciated that more. Now that I’m graduating, I want her to know that even though I’m going to be on my own and carve out my own career path, I appreciate the way she has been involved throughout my life allowing me to get where I am today.”

Jiayi Zhang, sophomore in LAS

“During secondary school, I always blamed my mom for coming home late. I was always hungry, and I needed to wait hours for her to arrive home. Most astonishingly, she didn’t allow me to eat out with my friends and told me that I had to stay at home. Back then, I knew nothing about my mom’s professional life, and it was only recently that I learned of the way she suffered from unimaginable responsibility and stress. When I was a youth, my father was immersed in gambling and so he didn’t contribute a lot to the family business. Instead, my mom, as a woman, had to contract foreign partners, supervise production lines and organize the workers in the factory. Nevertheless, although she handled tons of things related to the company, she still cared about my health and came back home in a hurry to cook for me. When I found this out, I felt so sorry for my previous blame. Sorry mom, I should try to get to know you better.”

Yue Xu, sophomore in ACES

“It is a story that freezes my heart whenever I think about it. In the third grade, I was standing at the front of the school waiting for my mom to pick me up as usual. However, that day, I had been waiting for an hour and I didn’t see my mother. Seeing that all my friends had gone home, I felt a sense of abandonment, and I didn’t even have money to get home. Soon, I set off home on foot and I walked angrily for almost two hours to get home. By the time I arrived home, the sky was already turning dark; an incredibly late time for a primary school child to be returning home. Opening the front door, I found that tears had just been washed from my mom’s face a moment before, and she instantly ran to hug me. At that point, I felt so sorry for my wayward behavior, which caused such a huge worry for my mom.”

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