Facing the Truth
By Mayra, age 16, California
As the whole class was busy doing their morning "free-write", one of my classmates walked in. She had been skipping class for weeks, but by some miracle showed up to our honors English class. Our teacher observed her every move as she managed to take a seat. He brought out his deep serious tone as he called her to the front of the class.
The confrontation began when he asked her what was wrong. With hesitation she replied by telling him that her mother had been sick. As I heard those words I couldn't help but feel a cloud of pity for her. Everyone knew the truth, yet she kept on with her list of lies. That's when I asked myself, "Why is it so hard to confront the truth? Why is it so hard to face the consequences?"
Amazingly she got away with it, but is life really about "getting away with it?" Are we really here to run ... or to lead? I returned to my work, but I remained in heavy thought.
Later on, during my fifth period class, I sat down with two good friends, Suzie and Paco. I commented on the situation, and the three of us shared our opinions. Paco made some great points. He said, "By living in lies, you're living in fear. Facing the consequences sets you free."
Lying hurts you, but more importantly it hurts the people around you. Don't get me wrong. Lying is a natural human behavior commonly used in a situation where a person feels threatened or in danger. But we should just have enough common sense to separate right from wrong and view the consequences before taking actions. Live your life without guilt. Let that be your constitution.