--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I could forgive, it meant I was a…" description: "\"“If I could forgive, it meant I was a strong, good person who could take responsibility for the path I had chosen for myself, and all the consequences ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/piper-kerman-8613_forgive_if-i-could-forgive-it-meant-i-was-a-stro_1863001.jpg" --- # If I could forgive, it meant I was a strong, good person… ![“If I could forgive, it meant I was a strong, good person who could take responsibility for the path I had chosen for myself, and all the consequences that accompanied that choice.” quote by Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/piper-kerman-8613_forgive_if-i-could-forgive-it-meant-i-was-a-stro_1863001.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/piper-kerman-8613_forgive_if-i-could-forgive-it-meant-i-was-a-stro_1863001.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/piper-kerman-8613_forgive_if-i-could-forgive-it-meant-i-was-a-stro_1863001.jpg) > ““If I could forgive, it meant I was a strong, good person who could take responsibility for the path I had chosen for myself, and all the consequences that accompanied that choice.”” [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Forgiveness is a sign of personal strength and accountability for one’s own life choices and their outcomes. **In simple terms:** Forgiving shows strength and responsibility. Key Takeaway Embrace responsibility and choose forgiveness. Themes responsibility forgiveness self‑growth accountability Mood reflective determined Type advice motivational When to use this quote - relationship conflict - legal consequences - personal setbacks - family disputes Key Concepts psychology ethics personal development Questions to Reflect On - What does forgiveness mean to you? - How can you balance responsibility with self‑compassion? A Different Perspective Forgiveness may not erase harm or be accepted by others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) [Good person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-person/) ## Related quotes > [I love my children. That will never change. I have prayed to them for forgiveness and hope that they will forgive me. I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-smith/i-love-my-children-that-will-never-change-i-have-prayed-to-them-for/) [Susan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-smith/) > [If I could forgive, it meant I was a strong good person who could take responsibility for the path I had chosen for myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/if-i-could-forgive-it-meant-i-was-a-strong-good-person-who-could-take-2/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [Hope you forgive me, I never meant wrong. Tried to be patient... but waited too long. But I would of came back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/hope-you-forgive-me-i-never-meant-wrong-tried-to-be-patient-but/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [Hope you forgive me…never meant wrong. Tried to be patient but waited too long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/hope-you-forgive-me-never-meant-wrong-tried-to-be-patient-but-waited/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [Hope you'll forgive me, never meant wrong. Tried to be patient, but waited too long. But I would've came back.. But I would've came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/hope-you-ll-forgive-me-never-meant-wrong-tried-to-be-patient-but/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [“But again, pain hurt, no matter how it was inflicted. If Jesus could forgive Peter and everyone else who hurt and betrayed Him, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-rose-johnson/but-again-pain-hurt-no-matter-how-it-was-inflicted-if-jesus-could/) Kimberly Rose Johnson > [Many are stubborn in the pursuit of the path that they have chosen, very few in pursuit of the goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsepiso-makhubedu/many-are-stubborn-in-the-pursuit-of-the-path-that-they-have-chosen/) [Tsepiso Makhubedu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsepiso-makhubedu/) > [Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/many-are-stubborn-in-pursuit-of-the-path-they-have-chosen-few-in/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Untill you reach the end of the road,there is still time to change the path you have chosen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/untill-you-reach-the-end-of-the-road-there-is-still-time-to-change/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I guess destiny isn't the path chosen for us, but the path we chose for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-ferrell/i-guess-destiny-isn-t-the-path-chosen-for-us-but-the-path-we-chose/) [Will Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-ferrell/) > [The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are. The cost of freedom is always high, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-path-we-have-chosen-for-the-present-is-full-of-hazards-as-all/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“They could have fought against it, begged for another way or gone off the path in hopes of finding an easier passage. Instead, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sage-steadman/they-could-have-fought-against-it-begged-for-another-way-or-gone-off/) [Sage Steadman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sage-steadman/) > [Love is a pathway of many colors and dead ends. But when the right path is chosen, the sights are amazing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tash/love-is-a-pathway-of-many-colors-and-dead-ends-but-when-the-right/) Tash > [We live in a world where people don't all have the same scruples, where all blows can be given, and where, in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-sarkozy/we-live-in-a-world-where-people-don-t-all-have-the-same-scruples/) [Nicolas Sarkozy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-sarkozy/) > [“The path for you is chosen by you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-edward-simone/the-path-for-you-is-chosen-by-you/) [Val Edward Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-edward-simone/) ## More by Piper Kerman > [“I looked down at the doors of the forbidden Dorms and studiously examined the bulletin boards covered with incomprehensible information about events and rules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/i-looked-down-at-the-doors-of-the-forbidden-dorms-and-studiously/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“Stoicism sure comes in handy when they take away your underpants. But how to reconcile it with one's insatiable need for other people?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/stoicism-sure-comes-in-handy-when-they-take-away-your-underpants-but/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“Some of the mothers looked overwhelmed - they were no longer accustomed to supervising their own kids in a normal, day-to-day way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/some-of-the-mothers-looked-overwhelmed-they-were-no-longer-accustomed/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“The female guard in R&D explained that they had no women's street clothes, so she gave me the smallest pair of men's jeans they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/the-female-guard-in-r-d-explained-that-they-had-no-women-s-street/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“I had forgotten about the pleasures of college radio, the exquisite randomness of what got played, the twenty-minute between-songs banter of nineteen-year-olds, the smack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/i-had-forgotten-about-the-pleasures-of-college-radio-the-exquisite/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“I had long recognized that faith helped people understand their relationship to their community. In the best cases it helped women in Danbury focus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/i-had-long-recognized-that-faith-helped-people-understand-their/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“We have a racially based justice system that overpunishes, fails to rehabilitate, and doesn't make us safer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/we-have-a-racially-based-justice-system-that-overpunishes-fails-to/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“If he is a half-decent human being, he will find himself the object of crushes. If he is a cocky bastard, even more so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/if-he-is-a-half-decent-human-being-he-will-find-himself-the-object-of/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“If you had the misfortune of having the government intimately involved with your life, whether via public housing or Medicaid or food stamps, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/if-you-had-the-misfortune-of-having-the-government-intimately/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“Prison is quite literally a ghetto in the most classic sense of the world, a place where the U.S. government now puts not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/prison-is-quite-literally-a-ghetto-in-the-most-classic-sense-of-the/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“He told us that it was important to eat right, exercise, and treat your body as a temple. But he didn't tell us how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/he-told-us-that-it-was-important-to-eat-right-exercise-and-treat-your/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“According to the CDC, cigarettes kill over 435,000 people a year in the United States. Most of us in Danbury were locked away for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/according-to-the-cdc-cigarettes-kill-over-435-000-people-a-year-in/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“The public expects sentences to be punitive but also rehabilitative; however, what we expect and what we get from our prisons are very different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/the-public-expects-sentences-to-be-punitive-but-also-rehabilitative/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“Nothing about the daily workings of the prison system focuses its inhabitants’ attention on what life back on the outside, as a free citizen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/nothing-about-the-daily-workings-of-the-prison-system-focuses-its/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“According to Bertrand Russell, the virtuous stoic was one whose will was in agreement with the natural order. He described the basic idea like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/according-to-bertrand-russell-the-virtuous-stoic-was-one-whose-will/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) [Explore all 78 Piper Kerman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) ## More Forgive quotes > [“So in practicing blanket forgiveness you first assume that in any current condition of pain or discomfort there is some anger involved, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-kahili-king/so-in-practicing-blanket-forgiveness-you-first-assume-that-in-any/) Serge Kahili King > [Do what is given to you, and do it well, and you will have done enough...live together in the forgiveness of your sins. Forgive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-what-is-given-to-you-and-do-it-well-and-you-will-have-done-enough/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The public, more often than not, will forgive mistakes, but it will not forgive trying to wiggle out of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-grizzard/the-public-more-often-than-not-will-forgive-mistakes-but-it-will-not/) [Lewis Grizzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-grizzard/) > [Im so sorry,i screwed up again.i didnt meant hurting you.please,forgive me,again?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/redeyeen/im-so-sorry-i-screwed-up-again-i-didnt-meant-hurting-you-please/) Redeyeen > [“He fell back. He had cried out so loud that even if there had been no breach in the wall, I should have heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/he-fell-back-he-had-cried-out-so-loud-that-even-if-there-had-been-no/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [Forgive us our trespasses," says Margarethe, "and get out of our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/forgive-us-our-trespasses-says-margarethe-and-get-out-of-our-way/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“ving self and others is an every second of every day of every week, of every month, of every year gift that should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/ving-self-and-others-is-an-every-second-of-every-day-of-every-week-of/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [Ive learned¦ that no matter how good a friend is, theyre going to hurt you every once in a while, and you must forgive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ive-learned-that-no-matter-how-good-a-friend-is-theyre-going-to-hurt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you can't forgive and forget, pick only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-brault/if-you-can-t-forgive-and-forget-pick-only-one/) [Robert Brault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-brault/) > [I feel people relate with your entire journey and forgive your mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-feel-people-relate-with-your-entire-journey-and-forgive-your/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [More courage is required to forgive than is required to take up arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ramos-horta/more-courage-is-required-to-forgive-than-is-required-to-take-up-arms/) [Jose Ramos-Horta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ramos-horta/) > [“The Bible says, “You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/the-bible-says-you-must-make-allowance-for-each-other-s-faults-and/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [“By choosing to forgive, you are choosing to love. By choosing to operate in love, you are choosing to operate in an unconditional state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-watterson/by-choosing-to-forgive-you-are-choosing-to-love-by-choosing-to/) Eric Watterson > [The most important thing about being a father is being able to forgive yourself. If you don't forgive yourself, you're not going to forgive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evander-holyfield/the-most-important-thing-about-being-a-father-is-being-able-to/) [Evander Holyfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evander-holyfield/) Browse all 3,381 Forgive quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If I could forgive, it meant I was a strong, good person who could take responsibility for the path I had chosen for myself, and all the consequences that accompanied that choice.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Piper Kerman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/if-i-could-forgive-it-meant-i-was-a-strong-good-person-who-could-take/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Forgive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/if-i-could-forgive-it-meant-i-was-a-strong-good-person-who-could-take/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/piper-kerman-8613_forgive_if-i-could-forgive-it-meant-i-was-a-stro_1863001.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/piper-kerman-8613_forgive_if-i-could-forgive-it-meant-i-was-a-stro_1863001.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/piper-kerman-8613_forgive_if-i-could-forgive-it-meant-i-was-a-stro_1863001.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I could forgive, it meant I was a strong, good person who could take responsibility for the path I had…” — Piper Kerman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Piper Kerman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If I could forgive, it meant...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/if-i-could-forgive-it-meant-i-was-a-strong-good-person-who-could-take/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/if-i-could-forgive-it-meant-i-was-a-strong-good-person-who-could-take/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```