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I believe words can hurt, from being too honest to lying, what one says can hurt others. The thoughtless ridicule by me of classmates, friends, and even family members can push the receiver of my words over the edge, into a mindset that undermines his or her self confidence.  I remember a time when the words I said were particularly cruel and did hurt my friend’s feelings.

My words were true, but maybe too honest.  I did not think before I spoke and caused great heartache to my friend.  Her and her boyfriend had been together for a year when I started to think he was not treating her right.  We were out one day talking and the subject of boyfriends came up.  We started talking about what we liked about our boyfriends, then I went off on a tangent and told her what I did not like about her boyfriend.  He was acting too serious and not letting her hang out with me.  He was just being too possessive and controlling.  I told her I thought he was a future perpetrator of domestic violence.

That did not go over well and she got very silent.  Her eyes started to tear up and she began to doubt the relationship she had with her boyfriend.  I immediately knew I had hurt her and truth be told I might have exaggerated the domestic violence part, but that did not mean I did not think he was right for her, but my words were too harsh.

That is when I realized words can hurt and a wise person cannot just shoot off words without thinking first.  I had no idea how much of an impact my words would have on her.  It was a slap in my face to realize that my thoughtlessness hurt her that much. I believe words can hurt.