Senior biology and science education major
A couple of weeks ago, I was late to my internship. Not devastatingly late, but enough that I had to scramble to prepare things before my first task of the day. Normally a very punctual person, I naturally had to explain the reasoning behind my tardiness to my supervisor. The truth: I turned off my alarm and fell back to sleep. What I said: “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, but my alarm is on the fritz.”
I lied. And then I kept going about my day. There was no backlash for my irresponsibility, no reason for me to take ownership of the fact that I showed up unprepared. Nothing happened and that is exactly what I wanted.
The average lie is not life threatening. It can take many forms: shifting blame for your lateness onto an imaginary traffic jam, covering up your true feelings about your friend’s haircut to avoid the potentially relationship-ending repercussions of telling the truth or telling your waiter at Applebee’s that its your birthday to get free cake. All seemingly small mistruths that make it easier to navigate your day-to-day life. There is a reason why lying appears to smooth over irritations and tweak situations in your favor: Lying allows you to escape consequences.
The problem with this is consequences are not arbitrary, negative repercussions. They have a deeply important purpose. These ramifications draw attention to our shortcomings and slipups by making sure we are not the only people who are aware of the ways in which we can better ourselves. Consequences are put in place to hold us accountable for what we think, do and say. They are an opportunity to learn from our mistakes and take ownership of our failures.
Lying skips right over the consequences, keeping our faults hidden and never forcing them to be addressed by anyone other than ourselves. This prevents us from acknowledging and receiving the support that may be necessary to make positive changes. The reason mistakes are considered mistakes is because of the penalties that accompany them. Weaseling one’s way out of these penalties with a lie allows for the illusion that no mistake occurred in the first place. The liar may escape with an untarnished reputation, but rest assured, he has only created a larger problem for himself.
Telling the truth when a lie is the easier option is an opportunity to confront a weakness and begin on the road to overcoming it. Speaking with candor ensures that others hold us liable for our actions when we can’t do the job ourselves. Even lies with the noblest of intentions keep you from living as your most genuine self.
Next time I allow my desire for sleep to overcome my work ethic, I am going to try to be honest about it. Not just because it is the right thing or because God literally commanded that I do so, but because I want to be a better person. I want to shoulder the responsibilities of my mistakes and I want my actions to portray who I really am, the good and the bad. Telling the truth doesn’t just mean you are being honest; it means you are living honestly.
Danielle Wilkin is a senior biology and science education major. She can be reached at dwilkindbk@gmail.com.
