Emma Danley, student at East Valley Parent Partnership
This month’s character trait for PACE is honesty. When most people think of honesty they think of the absence of lies or the truth. But this trait is so much more than just telling the truth. It is a way of life and a way to live your life. Honesty can be seen in what we do and in the way we conduct ourselves: when at work, at school, talking to friends, and being with family. One of the traits employers value is honesty and the ability to tell the truth without being rude or cruel. The problem is that honesty is hard to find in today’s world. We live in a world that is always trying to get us to put ourselves first. Honesty seems to be a rare quality to see in people. Think about how much better the world would be if everyone was honest in all they do? Many people are surprised when someone is honest not just for their benefit.
From a young age, we are taught not to lie. Even little kids are aware that there are consequences of telling a lie. So why do we do it? Why do we tell lies when we know that it will backfire in the end? Going back to the little child who tells a lie to avoid the consequences of them telling the truth about what happened. Slightly ironic isn’t it? We tell a lie to avoid telling about what happened. Dishonesty is a vicious cycle that we find ourselves in if we are not careful. Someone may tell a little lie to avoid hurting the feelings of another person or to avoid getting in trouble. A lie is then taken as the truth. And that lie then spirals out of control until the truth comes out eventually. The cycle then repeats. My mom used to always say that it is better to tell the truth and get in trouble for your actions rather than to tell a lie and get into even more trouble.
Telling the truth isn’t easy, especially when we know what the consequences will be for our actions. Granted no one can tell the truth 100% of the time. Especially when someone’s feelings may be hurt. There might be a way to both tell the truth and keep someone’s feelings from being hurt. Tell the truth, but be kind and polite. If honesty was more prevalent in the world there would be less crime, less corruption, and people would be generally happier. Honesty is a quality that everyone should strive to have. One of the ways each of us can strive to make this world a better place for all to live, one might start with themselves. Be honest.
“No legacy is as rich as honesty.”-William Shakespeare.
Emma Danley is a student at East Valley Parent Partnership and has been there for just a little over a year and loves it. She is an artist, craft enthusiast, bookworm, photographer, music lover, and loves movies. She has won a PACE award for fairness and strongly believes in the PACE ideal to shine a spotlight on people who show admirable qualities. Emma believes that honesty helps more people to strive to be better and exhibit these admirable qualities.
