I was not a pathological liar as a child, far from it, but, I told many lies as I walked up the path of awareness and discovery of self. My lies were not told to deceive, no, it was an expression of self-worthiness, love and compassion. I told lies to protect people I care about from having any kind of doubt or disappointment in me. I knew lying was wrong, but, I lied anyway. My parents were not liars, in contrary, my father was as blunt as blunt could be and my mother had her dignity to protect. I grew up amidst people who believe honesty is a virtue but, I still lied. No one taught me to lie neither was I influenced by my peers.

I lied on many occasions. As a kid, food was my first love and I lied to eat as much as I wanted. I lied to escape punishment and I lied not to get people angry.

I cannot remember when I actually started lying. I know I got away with some and I got caught many times. I then grew into perfecting my lies out of pure childishness and imagination. I was not wayward, nor was I a truant. As a matter of fact, I was a bit of an angel, I was obedient, attentive at school and ran errand happily. I was a good example in my neighbourhood, however, all these did not stop me from telling lies to people I cared the most about.

My lies as a child were not that harmful, they were those little lies you could excuse a child of 8 for, but, as I entered my pre-teen, I shaped up the lies I told. Among my peers, I told a tailor- made and personalised lies. I lied about latest fashion I did not have, about shops I had never been and about food I had never tasted. Then, no one knew I lied except me. I faked reading just to be free from chores, I chose to be different and  I sometimes lied to be that person.

My lies were all out of imagination, exaggerations, cover-ups and make beliefs. My teenage years went pretty smooth, I was in a state. (more…)