Last week I journeyed home to my parents’ house in Pittsburgh to celebrate Rosh HaShana, the Jewish New Year, with them. Tomorrow night marks the next milestone on the Jewish calendar – Yom Kippur. In preparation for this holiday, we are supposed to reach out to those around us who we have sinned against throughout the previous year and request forgiveness.

I’d like to think I’m a decent person, and that I haven’t seriously wronged any one over the past 12 months. But let’s be honest, who isn’t guilty of gossip, jealousy, and some lies (white or otherwise, we have our reasons!) Growing up I attended Jewish day school, and at this time of the year, frenemies would typically kiss and make up (after all, that fight was so 6th grade, and a whole summer has passed!) But as an adult, how frequently do we pick up the phone to call a friend and fess up for our sins – however big or small, in an effort to clear the slate and move forward? I have to wonder in many cases – if you bad mouth a friend, if you lie about already having plans when you’d just prefer not to spend time with someone at that time, or if an old friend hurts your feelings and you spent a couple weeks avoiding him or her, why should we jeopardize our these relationships by reopening old wounds?

This year, there is one old friend I’ve decided to reach out to in search of forgiveness for the first time – myself. I hope by Yom Kippur this year, I’ll be able to forgive myself for my shortcomings – for the things I could have done differently, the things I could have done better. I hope I’ll move into this New Year understanding that I am only human, and there’s no reason to feel guilty about that!