When our parents told us we lived in a dog-eat-dog world, they were more correct than they might’ve thought. In today’s modern society, it seems that one needs to stand out no matter what, more and more each day. Whether it’s with the guy whom you thought looked really cool and was definitely boyfriend material or the college of your dreams, more than a few teenagers would agree that people have to take drastic measures to make sure they are accepted or even just considered.

Everyone has lied at some point, whether it’s insisting that you really love your friend’s new haircut or telling someone you know the president of Zimbabwe just so they can think you’re the bee’s knees. Even with this knowledge, a surprising number of people would say that lying is immoral and that it should always be avoided.

But what if the person is stretching the truth a little, not full out lying? Is that where the gray area comes in?

I was on the internet the other day and while reading postings on a random Live Journal community, the topic of making up fancy names for positions like “grocery bagger” to put in resumes came up. Does substituting the world “packing technician” for “bagger” make the applicant more likely to get the job or does it look just plain stupid? In the world that we live in, do people, especially teenagers, have to make up fancy names for simple things just so that they won’t be pegged with a reject stamp?

When it comes to lying, we are all willing to admit that we’ve sinned. We are much less likely to admit to the bigger things, but we are all willing to confess to our “white lies” and little indiscretions.

“When I lie it’s usually about petty things like…’did you sneak a cookie from the cookie jar?’ Er…no…,” Stephanie Fernandez, sophomore, said.

The fact is that is simply impossible to get by without a few lies here and there. Colleges don’t want to hear that you were only a club member, so how do you remedy that? *Poof,* you were activities coordinator! It’s all about making you look good on paper.

“When I applied to colleges, my measly hostessing job turned into a managing position,” Nicole Espaillat, senior, said.

But are there any consequences to the trend? Truth be told, we teenagers have forgotten what honesty is. We lie to our parents, we lie to our teachers, we lie to employers, and sadly, we lie to each other.

“Sometimes lying is a way of life. My parents think I'm five and getting out of the house sometimes takes a lie or two,” Alexis Taylor, senior said.

Society is turning its teenagers into liars. Why bother telling the truth when lying is so much easier? So why do we always lie when backed into a corner?

“Humans have a defensive animal reaction dealing with social survival and when put into a situation that affects their sociability, they will lie,” Scott Nelson, Gables AP psychology teacher, said.

How did we ever let it get this far? There has to be an alternative to lying all the time. I remember in kindergarten when they used to tell us that one lie would snowball and roll down the hill until it got so big it flattened everyone at the bottom. Now we are encouraged to lie; we have to sound better than our competitors. It simply impossible to hold a job, volunteer, maintain perfect grades, compete in sports, and be a perfect teenage specimen without a little fibbing in between. After all, we aren’t perfect.

So, what are we implying with all our dishonest behavior? We’re implying that who we actually are is not enough, and that’s very very sad. Who do you want to be anyways?

“I always try to tell the truth, I do get in a lot of trouble for it though. Maybe I should lie more...” Pedro Rivero, senior, said.