The Golden Key | Teen Ink

The Golden Key

February 15, 2019
By cwitkin BRONZE, Park Rapids, Minnesota
cwitkin BRONZE, Park Rapids, Minnesota
4 articles 0 photos 0 comments

I lay in bed, heart beating fast, as I waited for my friend, Marie, to return. We made plans to have a sleepover at my house only for her to inform me minutes after her arrival that I would be helping her sneak out to see a guy she liked. Immediately, I told her it was a bad idea; my parents were home and would hear her leave. She went ahead and did it anyway leaving me waiting anxiously for her call to let her back into my house.


One of the first things everyone learns as a kid is not to lie. Parents always preach about how telling the truth is best and how lying will get you in trouble. A phrase that many people are familiar with is “Honesty is the best policy.” As kids grow up, some hold this policy with them while others do not find it as important.

Honesty has always been an important thing to me. This might be because I’m a terrible liar, or because of the feeling I get when I lie. My stomach will churn, my palms become sweaty, and dizziness consumes my head. I have encountered a few situations in which my friends lied directly to their parents’ faces and remained completely unbothered. It amazed me because even though I wasn’t the one lying, I still felt guilty. I am a true believer that nothing good comes from being dishonest. Yes, there are some situations in which telling a small lie won’t hurt anyone and might actually be for the best, but in the long run lying only causes problems.

I checked the time once again. My phone displayed the time 12:20a.m. It had been only twenty minutes since I helped Marie sneak out, and I still couldn’t calm down. I looked at the empty spot in my bed and decided it would be best if I stacked pillows under the blankets to resemble her sleeping body in case my mom checked on us. After I completed that task, I attempted to distract myself with my phone. Attempt failed, I sat in bed and stared at the wall.


Honest, by definition from the Oxford Dictionary, is (“to be free of deceit, truthful, and sincere.”) This means that a person possessing honest qualities will not act in a way they are not, and they will not pretend to be someone else. An honest person won’t lie, and they won’t act in a devious manner.

I think with the impact social media has had on everyone today it is very hard to tell when someone is being honest. There are so many people on Instagram, Twitter, and many other platforms that only post the good. Actually, I think that is something everyone does. You don’t come across many people who post a bad picture of themselves or post about a mistake they made. People use social media to show off. Whether they are showing off a new car they got, showing off an outfit they looked cute in, or posting a picture that captures how clear their skin looked. It’s only part of the truth.

Editing pictures is common on Instagram, especially the app Facetune. This app allows you to go as far as whitening your teeth and removing blemishes. This goes against the definition of honest; an honest person does not act in a way they are not. Removing blemishes and whitening your teeth is changing your appearance - effectively acting in a way you are not.

Social media is just one example I find to be present in almost everyone’s lives. I don’t think any harm is done by editing your pictures a bit. I’m guilty of editing all my pictures. There are other circumstances in which lying could really harm someone emotionally and sometimes physically. Relationships, for example, need to be full of honesty, or they will never work. If there is no honesty in a relationship, there will also be no trust, and trust is probably one of the most important things in any kind of relationship.


I woke up to a buzzing in my right ear. I grabbed my phone and saw Marie’s name appear on the screen. I answered the phone and she informed me that she was in the backyard. I needed to go let her in. Getting to the back door silently was a struggle. Our kitchen floor was creaky, causing me to make more noise than intended. After two failed attempts to get the door open for her, I managed to make it there quietly and let her in.


Honesty is a golden key. It’s a key to gaining anyone’s trust. I consider myself lucky because of how much my parents trust me to make the right decisions. I’m not just lucky though. It was my behavior that got me to a point where I could be considered a trustworthy person.


As we were getting ready to go to bed, I heard footsteps approaching my room. My door opened and in walked my mom with a confused look on her face. She said she woke up to the dog barking and saw a car slow down at the end of our driveway. She then asked if we had made plans to leave. I responded with a no and explained that we were awake because of the cat. He wouldn’t stop bugging us which caused me to get up and throw him outside.

A lie. I lied right to my mom’s face and it did not feel good. I don’t know if it was because of her tired state that she accepted my answer and left, or maybe she knew I was lying and was disappointed in me. Either way I was still overcome with guilt. I was as guilty as a dog that got into something he wasn’t supposed to. I felt like a disappointment and a horrible person, and I wasn’t even the one that snuck out. I was mad at myself, annoyed with Marie, and in that moment, I told myself I would not lie anymore.


A quote by Samuel Johnson (an English writer from the 1700s) says (“The first step towards greatness is to be honest.”) I think everyone should hear this quote at some point in their lives. I truly believe that dishonesty can hold us back in life. Lying will get us nowhere but being honest in our words and true to ourselves will lead us to success and, more importantly, happiness.


I never did tell my mom what happened, but I told my older sister. She laughed when I told her and said not to worry about it which helped ease my stress. When I talked to other friends about what happened, two said Marie had done the same thing to them. The three of us further talked about it, and from what I gathered Marie had almost gotten in trouble but her lying got her out of the situation. At that point I decided she wasn’t the kind of person I wanted in my life, and our friendship ended soon after. Our friendship ending helped change me for the better. I am now better at realizing who the honest people are in my life. It’s not always easy to tell who’s being fake and who’s genuine, but as soon as I find that someone has been dishonest I’m sure to stand up for myself. I am much happier without dishonest people in my life.



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