Reflective Essay: What I Learned In The Science Fair

If there was one thing I learned from science fairs--besides learning how to properly record my data--is that friendships require forgiveness. It may seem implausible and absurd, but during the science fair two years ago, I had finally learned this valuable lesson of forgiving. I would often dwell upon this memory and smile, wondering how we had still won that science fair.
My teammates were my two close friends, Daniel and Raymond. Everything went smoothly at first; we made lots of progress in experimenting and gathering data. But I didn't feel too happy when Raymond and I meticulously worked on measuring sets after sets of data, Daniel was searching for pictures of potatoes on the internet. This didn't happen once, but it occurred almost every day. Maybe I should have expected this to happen, but I
I’m sorry for not giving you a chance to work and do what you wanted to do. I’m really sorry for ignoring you until now.” The words flowed out like water as if breaking the blockade of my anger and frustrations.
“I was wondering when you’d even speak,” Daniel replied with a smirk, “I’m sorry for not doing my share of the work. Really.”
“It’s okay. You did do things. In the last minute.” I grinned as I replied to him, and with a single act of forgiveness, the cloud of awkwardness disappeared. The elevator doors shuddered open once more. The night sky greeted us with its slightly humid air and halogen lights that lit up the darkness.
“You know, if you’re ever going to do this again, do warn me. I need to be prepared,” Daniel joked, nudging me in the ribs. Both of us had learned a valuable lesson that day.
I still have the certificate from that particular science fair and it always reminds me of how I risked losing a friend in the process; but most importantly, I learned the true value of forgiveness in a