The Power of "I'm sorry"

I'm sorry.
It's kind of a common phrase, but it can be powerful. Recently I had an experience with this phrase being very powerful.
About, oh, 9 or 10 months ago a friend and I became not so good friends. I did something that really hurt him. I tried saying sorry who knows how many times. He said I was okay and what not, but we never really became friends again. He was really bitter towards me throughout this whole entire school year. We never talked, hardly even said hello in the hallways. It was awkward, a lot people knew what happened between us and it was awkward talking about it, but something must have changed recently.
He texted me today with a long text saying he was sorry for the way he had treated me the last few months. You have no idea the impact it had on me. One of my goals was to try and sort things out with him before he left in July for his mission and lately I began to doubt that it would ever happen. I knew he didn't like me at all anymore but then this happened. I was really happy and it made my day so much better, in fact my whole senior year better in a way.
We talked for awhile and caught up on a lot of things. It was good to talk to him as a friend, nothing less and nothing more. He told me he was no longer bitter about anything that had happened between us. I asked him what changed. What had happened to make him no longer this way towards me? He simply said, "I finally realized how stupid I was being. It's not right of me to treat anyone that way . . . consider me a friend again." So that was the end of everything. We're friends.
It must have taken a lot to tell me this. He could have gone through life, shoved it out of him mind and not worry about it. But he wanted to make sure we became friends again and that he was forgiven. I admire him for that a lot.
In the end I think we both felt better. I felt like I really forgave him. A weight was lifted off of me, and I'm sure that's the way he feels. This is how it feels once you have truly forgiven someone, and they have forgiven you. I love it, it feels really good. 
The power of I'm sorry in a situation like this and being sincere about it can have a large effect on so many things. It can mend scares, hearts, friendships, relationships, etc. So if there is something you need to say sorry for, say it. It may be hard but it is worth it in the end, and you'll feel ten times better.