I bite my tongue

I bite my tongue

By Taylor LaTray Posted May 30, 2012

The unspoken words of teenagers. Are they best left spoken, or rather safely hidden behind the taunting lips of adolescents? There is at least one thing even the most outspoken of people has to say, but will never mention.

Why do we not say these things we strive so badly to just let loose? It could be plenty of reasons, each person has a different reason for their unspoken truths. Whether it be fear, loss, anxiety, friendship, insecurities, or protection. For some wildly unknown reason, everyone hides something. Everyone keeps their foot in their mouth.

“To the extent that you entertain lies and deceit, you are held prisoner in a world cut off from reality. The truth you hide from yourself prevents you from growth and fulfillment. The truth you hide from others keeps you distantly apart. The truth shines a bright light on life, so you can clearly see the way to go. Success, achievement, happiness, joy, fellowship, and fulfillment, thrive in the warm and nurturing light of the truth. Honesty is the most direct path to wherever you want to go. Truth and honesty are often difficult, yet never more difficult, in the end than deceit. To think otherwise is to deceive even yourself. Hiding in the shadows of falsehood makes it impossible to move forward. That the truth is moral and ethical, is no secret. Yet the truth is also practical, efficient, and effective in every worthy pursuit, something well known by those who enjoy lasting success. Live in the bright, empowering light. Embrace the truth. It always serves you best,” said best, in a famous quote by Ralph Marston.

You don’t need to speak what’s on your mind every second of the day, nor that every word you say needs to be the truth, sarcasm is funny, and at times brightens someone’s day. Although, sometimes teenagers lie to the extent where it’s become a normal thing and at one point it will tear their lives apart.

“I do not always say what I have to out of pure respect for people. Mainly if they are authority figures then I don’t say anything. But, I basically say everything on my mind,” said Jeremiah Mastrejaun. “There are people that I honestly do not like, but I act as I do only because I have to interact with them and you can’t survive hating everyone.”

We learn to lie to stay out of trouble and get away with sneaky actions when we are small. The more humans lie, the more dependant they become on the concept of lying. It is a rush of energy for some people. The truth can’t always please a crowd and sometimes people can no longer hold in what they have to say. So, they speak to words they’ve been dying to say and are alarmed to receive a not-so-pleasing response back. This response in some cases can spread rumors, breakups, and loss. The truth can hurt emotionally, but lies will damage more.

“There’s nothing I won’t tell you. I hide nothing. I will normally tell someone the straight-up cold-hearted truth. I believe that lying is pointless and more people should tell the truth no matter how harsh, except when your rear-end is on the line; then lying is completely acceptable,” said Alec Mayo. “I will lie about little stuff to keep me and my friends out of trouble. Although some ‘friends’ I actually don’t like, and I quite often hint at it too. YOLO.”

The most known situations in which a person hides something or holds back what they want to say are in relationships. Whether in friendships, family relationships, or with a significant other… There’s something you don’t know. Someone is keeping their foot in their mouth, and it needs to come out. Even if a person has nothing to hide and ultimately don’t care if their secrets are known, they still keep some secrets for a comforting feeling of privacy.

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