In 6th grade my teacher made us write letters to ourselves that she would send to us our final year of Highschool. (Grade 12) She also gave us these little question and answer sheets, to have our friends fill out. Questions like, 'Are we good friends?" "What do you like about me?" ect.
So my Senior year is about to start, and I get this goofy looking letter in the mail. It was my letter to myself! With Pokémon drawn on it, lol. Pokémon had just come to the states back then when I was a kid. Any ways, I open it and read this awesome letter I wrote to myself, and I teared up a bit. It was awesome.
But then I got to the letters the questionnaire my friends filled out about me. For the most part they were great. But there was one question on them, "What do you dislike about me?" And all my friends had similar answers written down.
What do you dislike about me: You get mad super fast. Mood Swings. You have a temper.
I couldn't believe it. it felt like someone slapped me, but I sat down and I thought it over. My Father had a huge temper. Never knew what would set him off. I hated it, I hated growing up living in fear of his temper. And I sat and thought about my actions. And yeah, I had a fucking Temper. I had this idea of what was right and wrong, and if someone did something I perceived as wrong, I would get insanely angry.
After that day, its like a switch flipped. I became more understanding. I started looking at arguments from other peoples points of view. So even if I didn't agree with someone, I eventually got to the point where I could at least empathize and see why from their point of view, they believed they were right.
And I learned, sometimes both parties are wrong and sometimes both parties are right, even if it doesn't feel that way. Life isn't black and white, right and wrong. Life is complicated, there are tons of different paths you can take, actions and plans you can make. There is no "right way."
I learned to be less harsh and judgmental of other people and their choices and actions. And it has helped me become a better person.