How comfortable are you with lying?

    Lying is such an interesting concept. On one hand, we are taught lying is bad from a very young age by our parents and fairy tales like Pinocchio and The Boy That Cried Wolf. On the other hand, as we grow up, we realize facts and feelings don’t really go well with each other, so sometimes we have to lie to make others happy. But me…I would never lie, no matter what, and if you think I’m lying…you’d be right. 

    I’m not a pathological liar. In fact, I believe I probably lie less than the average person, but I guess that depends on what you would consider as lying. 

    For me, pranking someone by hiding their phone during lunch when they were distracted, then saying it wasn’t you when they begin questioning you as you’ve done the same thing before, doesn’t count as lying…wow this sounds really mean when I typed it out…but he does it to me too so it's ok. Anyways, I don’t think the previously mentioned scenario should be considered lying because it is light-hearted and ultimately harmless, as I have no intentions of keeping it and will give it back by the end of lunch. So I guess what I mean is that “lying” is okay as long as you don’t cross the line and use it for malicious means, but I guess the hard part is figuring out where that line is. 

    The way I find this line is to think, “Am I going to tell them I’m lying?” and usually, if the answer is no, I’d refrain from saying what I was going to say. This rule obviously has its exceptions, the biggest of which being what I spoke about in the opening: to keep feeling unhurt. I’m not going to tell someone my compliment to them was a lie, but even with this case, I prefer the old saying: “If you got nothing nice to say, don’t say it at all.” 

    I’m quite comfortable with lighthearted lying, especially because I enjoy theater; I’d like to think I can pull off a good prank with my “acting” skills. However, when it comes to more serious, malicious lies, I almost physically cannot do so. 

    My mom often, and I mean really often…probably like once a week, tells me that the kind of person she hates most is a liar. I guess her teachings worked because I also consider lying, at least my interpretation of it, to be terrible, and I go to lengths to avoid doing it. 

    An example I go through pretty much every day is when my mom asks what I am doing when I should be studying. It is very easy to lie in this situation so she wouldn’t lecture or punish me, but because of the reason above and the fact I feel that I was indeed in the wrong, I would just admit to slacking off. I guess I visualize lying as sort of a…sacrifice? Something as small as the scenario above wouldn’t be worth lying for, and I should save my lies (I guess I also see myself having a limited supply of lies) for more important occasions, like telling my grandma that China is the greatest country in the world so she doesn’t think her son is a traitor to the motherland.

    Lying is sort of like art; there is a rough definition of it, but everyone has their own interpretations of its rules, though I think it is agreed upon that lying, in general, is bad. Personally, I will continue to hide my friend's phones and tell them their shoes are untied, but at the same time, I’ll do my best to think before I lie and see if lying is really worth it.