Staying at home all day long, alone, left me with no choice than to make up for the loss of company with what's available - the t.v and my phone. So yes, I spend the earlier part of my days watching t.v or handling my phone when 'our dearly beloved' decides to seize their power. Sometimes, rarely, I go out to visit the few friends I have around where I live. Other times, I do the aforementioned. So oneday, I watched this ghanian movie (can't remember the title now), it's about a guy who had to survive the hard way. He lost his parents quite early and became the parent of a younger brother and sister. They took to the streets. Eventually, his brother was killed by a mob and burned cos he stole a phone and was caught. The kid sister got raped by a man old enough to be her father. Eventually, she died of tatanus after being wounded by a rusted nail and there was no money for treatment. Subsequently, the guy became the leader of a four - man armed robbery group, who use matchete to terrorise the streets at night. One after the other, his gang membes got killed, all during one operation or the other. After witnessing the death of his last gang member/friend, he decided it was time he sought peace with his God. He became a changed man and began to take care of his baby mama and his son. Then one night, someone he had stolen from before recognized him, called a mob and they beat him up after which they burnt him alive. This got me thinking, ' Doesn't a really changed man deserve a second chance?'. Then another day, I watched a programme called 'Tales from the powder room'. In the programme, they read letters from people and discuss it. The letters are mainly on relationship/marriage problems. The letter that day was from a lady. She is 32 and he is 38. She works in a bank. The guy had been the one that took care of her and her family since her dad died, saw her through school. They've known each other for 12 years (used to be family friends before they started dating along the line). Years back, he was arrested for drug possession and convicted for 12 years. She had promised him she would wait till he's out. After 3 years, some guy in the bank she works got interested in her and wants to marry her. The family is pressurizing her to marry the man and forget the one in jail, 'afterall, when he gets out of jail in 9 years to come, he will be tagged an 'ex convict''. So the question is, 'is it right to marry an ex con? Even when the person leaves jail a changed man, do we still have to castigate simply because he happened to make some mistakes that landed him in jail?'. The most important thing is that they are changed, renewed and ready to embrace a new type of life. Someone pointed out that living with an ex con is poverty declaration because nobody will want to give him a job. Really? Are you for real? Like those employers are any better. We all make mistakes which lands us in trouble, whether we land inside our mothers' spicy lashes or inside a jail, either way, it's a mistake. The important thing is picking the lesson that comes with each mistake we make.
If you think you deserve a second chance to prove yourself worthy of that girl's/boy's love after that big mistake you made, if you think you deserve a second chance after you betrayed the trust someone somewhere had in you, if you think you deserve a secod chance after you did something that deflated your parents' pride, if you think you deserve a second chance after you did all these and more, then why not them??
I BELIEVE a REALLY CHANGED person; ex convict, ex lover, ex robber, ex child or ex whatever, deserves a second chance.
DO YOU??

Yeah, I do. Everyone deserves a 2nd chance. But not everyone is given a 2nd Chance. It can be painful. But what happens if the 2nd chance hurts more? What happens if the person didn't really change? It may affect the giver. Because to me, giving one a 2nd chance is to trust, love, accept and take one the way you've taken him before, faultless. What if your ex-lover comes back and Hurt you more than she did? Will you still have the heart to give others a 2nd chance?

missberrypop5: Yeah, I do. Everyone deserves a 2nd chance. But not everyone is given a 2nd Chance. It can be painful. But what happens if the 2nd chance hurts more? What happens if the person didn't really change? It may affect the giver. Because to me, giving one a 2nd chance is to trust, love, accept and take one the way you've taken him before, faultless. What if your ex-lover comes back and Hurt you more than she did? Will you still have the heart to give others a 2nd chance?

I get your point about giving someone a second chance and they end up hurting you more. Which is why I said a REALLY CHANGED PERSON. It's left to you to discover if the person is really changed or just pretending to be. And I believe there are cases where you don't forgive and forget. Forgive yes, but to forget? Being conscious of the fact that someone is liable to hurt you at any time makes the hurt less painful when it eventually comes. So it's left to you to decide if that someone deserves a 'forgive and forget' or a 'forgive, don't forget and also don't talk about whatever that had happened before'.