Truth vs. Lie???

Life always presents a person with two options in a situation: tell the truth or lie. There are pros and cons to each scenario whether they tell the truth or they lie. A constant confusion is displayed when a situation takes place and the million dollar question is: "Should I tell the truth or should I lie?" For some, telling the truth is painful but it is necessary to maintain trust in the relationship. For others, telling the truth is a sign of weakness and defeat. Meaning if someone broke a lamp of their parents' and they had time to replace it, then telling the truth would not replace the lamp or make anyone feel better, so why not take advantage of not telling the truth and replace it if there is enough time? Both points of view are very reasonable to argue, but not everyone sees the bad in telling a lie and vice versa. Not everyone sees the good in telling the truth. I for one see it from all stand points...but there is one way that I would prefer over all.

I would rather someone to tell me the truth over a lie no matter how small or big. I was always taught that you tell the truth regardless of the situation. I decided to do it my way because I was hard headed (surprise, surprise!). I was goofing around with one of my very best friends and her mom had repeatedly told us not to throw rocks because eventually one of us would get hurt. Since we were “invincible” we figured that would never happen. Well as fate would have it one day I threw a rock across the street and she happened to bend down and look up right as the rock hit her by the eye. When her mom asked me what happened I was faced with two decisions: tell the truth or tell a lie. Well I tried to incorporate both, which did not serve me very well. I told some of the truth, but I took out the “I threw the rock” part. I did finally end up telling the whole truth, but her mom explained to me that had I told the truth in the beginning she would have been more accepting. (My friend did heal and she is ok now.) With that I began to understand that the truth was a good thing even when it was covered in bad.

As a person I prefer people to tell me the truth, because if they do not then I instantly lose trust in them and it makes me feel like they are unpredicatable. However, I can relate and understand some of the reasons why a lie would look like a better choice. A pro can be that the other person can still trust them and deem them as someone who owns up to their mistakes. That is a good characteristic to possess. Another pro can be that the weight of the incident is then lifted off of your shoulders. Cons of telling the truth would be hurting a person’s feelings, the person becoming angry, that person may also accuse them of lying, and/or they may not accept them. Even still in the end, I will be 100 times more receptive and understanding when I am approached with the truth. No matter how mean, harsh, cruel, heart breaking, or even outrageous the truth may sound.

My high school experiences!

High school is the time when most people gain a direction. The simple lessons in high school are going to help someone in their academic endeavors. For me, I can decipher from the negative and the positive what I will need to continue doing well. When I entered Early College High School I began to encounter many academic struggles, accomplishments, and aspirations.

In high school I come across a handful of struggles. Struggles like my college classes, homework procrastination, and my studying habits. In my college classes, it’s the constant fear of missing an assignment that was a challenge for me. Homework is important to me, but sometimes I do not always start my homework in the right amount of time. I procrastinate for various reasons but mostly when I am tired. As for studying, it took me a long time to learn how to study. I have never been a student who had to study much until I got into Early College High School. I had to study for subjects like World History, Biology, Physical Science, Geometry, and English at times. Aside of the academic struggles I have had a lot of accomplishments.

            When I entered high school I tried to keep up my grades as best I could. I received honor roll for both grading periods which was very hard to do. I managed to also be invited to be recognized by the Lorain County Alliance of Black School Educators (LCABSE). I was very pleased as to what hard work and determination got me. Along with my awards and recognition I also finished out with a very high 3.4 GPA. These goals that I accomplished around the same time period got me thinking, about what I wanted to put my knowledge to good use for.

            I can honestly say I have always been a dreamer. I could take a whole day to dream up what directions I want to go in life. Right now I am aspiring to graduate Early College with both my high school diploma and my Associate of Arts degree. From then on, my imagination fills up with countless possibilities of what I could go on to be. I want to embrace my love for open end creativity, so I am leaning towards Interior Design. I also do not want to ever be limited to just one aspect of life so I also want to major in Marketing, which is basically a degree in business or finance. Whatever I end up doing with my life I know that it will be good for me and that I will always try my hardest.

            I can definitely admit that high school has thrown me some curve balls! All throughout the experience so far, I have dealt with each challenge to the best of my ability. I have worked hard during my academic struggles and accomplishments, so I know it will help me with my aspirations.

Cyber-Bullying

The common problem of cyber-bullying has now once again resurfaced, and the big questions are coming at everyone in heaps. People, teachers, administrators, and other kids ask day in and day out: Why does this happen? Why do I think people bully online? What should someone do about it? How should it be properly handled? Is it more likely for people to take a stand online or in real life? What would I do if I witnessed people being bullied?  I have a neutral opinion when it comes to forms of bullying and some people may agree and others may not.

            Why do I think people bully online? People bully online for a multitude of reasons. Bullying online occurs because they have a broader audience, spectators who are going to feed into their nonsense. A bigger audience means more supporters to a cyber-bully. Sometimes when a person is being bullied online it can be a result of their behavior also. People never really think of that reason because they feel sorry for the victim being harassed, but bullying can be a form of payback in a way.

            Is it more likely for people to take a stand online or in real life? People that take a stand toward bullying differ on how and where they take a stand. On social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblir etc.) there will normally always be at least one person who comments back taking a stand or defending the person being bullied however, those comments can be deleted or even prompt for more bullying to take place.

            What would I do if I witnessed people being bullied?  This question is where I become very iffy on the subject of bullying. Bullying, whether people like it or not, is a normal thing that happens to people at some point in time. I have been in some situations where people have been bullied and (Some people may disagree with me on this…) on different occasions I may help, ignore it, or depending on whom it may be I might sit back and watch how far it will go. It does not matter how many times you say something, comment, try to stop it, it continues as long as there are responses. I have been in the place of the victim on countless occasions. I know from experience that whether people stick up for you hardly makes much of a difference. It gives the person a little comfort in knowing they have support in the situation however, that support does not fully make the emotional pain go away. 

Bullying is a serious matter but different people deal with it in various ways. Anyone who tries to stop it is not 100% successful and those who do nothing are not fully contributing.  It is a broad topic with many subjects and a handful of questions …. It is up to the victim, the audience, and the bully to come up with the answers.