Confession

Confession is that moment of honesty with yourself in God's Presence when you see yourself as you really are, and genuinely acccept your flaws and past deeds that have caused hurt to others and yourself.

Confession means that in honesty before God you realise where you have fallen short, and the areas in your life where you need to change in order to become a better human being made in the Divine Image of God.

Confession means saying sorry to God in the depths of your heart for that in which you have done wrong, whether you fully realised the extent of your wrongdoing or not at the time.
And then making the decision to change.
And, if possible, trying to right some of the consequences of the wrong you did. 
Even if all you can do is make an apology.

Sacred Process
All of this is a sacred process, private between yourself and the God of your soul. It may be helpful to have a minister guide you with this process. Choose your priest/minister carefully. The total seal of the confessional - which means total confidentiality of the priest - must be the hallmark of your confessional minister.
You may choose to confess directly to the Priest of priests; Jesus Christ, in the confessional of your heart.
His Hand is that most securely placed to sift your sins and good deeds like chaff from wheat, and to help you rebuild a new and better you, from the ashes of the bitterness and pain of your past.
Forgiveness - of yourself and others for wrongdoing and the pain caused from it - is the key to a peaceful future.

Forgiveness
Why is forgiveness so important? Because some wrongs cannot be righted while on this earth. The emotional, familial and societal damage done by wrongdoing can sometimes not be reversed. Justice may not always be served. And this can lead to bitterness and a cycle of revenge and ever-worsening deeds which burgeon from the bitterness bred by suffering from the results of the wrongdoing that lies in the past.
It is only by making a fresh start, by cutting the ties of the bitterness of the past, that we can make a new future.
It does not mean that we won't still feel emotional pain at the remembrance of past hurt.
It does not mean that the wrong will always be righted.
It does not mean that we won't suffer the physical, emotional, mental and financial difficulties resultant from the wrongdoing.
It does mean that we won't let it poison us, or take away our happiness.
It means that we make a brave decision to shine like beacons of light in a world, witnessing that Jesus Christ most assuredly is right; forgiveness is the only way to free ourselves from the chains of past pain.

Confession and forgiveness means a new day, a fresh start; a new life . . .