During my high school years, I was a troubled student who kept on walking in the wrong path. I would always skip school to hang out with my friends on the streets. At the time, no one could have stopped me from being a street thug. I got in trouble by the law, but that didn’t even stop me from continuing my bad habits. One of the reasons why I was so lost was because I did not have a father figure or a role model. My older brother was not my role model because we did not get along too often. Therefore, during one of our altercations, he states, “You’re a screw up, you’re a burden to this whole family, and you will become a nobody so why don’t you make yourself useful, and join the military because you will never succeed in anything else.” This may have taken place seven years ago, but it suddenly reappeared in my head as I read one of William Black's quotes. He states, “A truth that's told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent." I would have to say that this quote has become one of my favorites because it relates to my own experience. At the time, my brother was speaking the truth, but it was the most hurtful thing I had ever heard.
Some who hears the hurtful truth would continue to go towards the wrong path, but others would use it as a tool to benefit themselves in the future. My brother meant to hurt me by telling the hurtful truth, but I used it to my advantage. My brother's comment had a positive effect on me because it gave me the drive to prove him wrong. I made many mistakes in my life, but those mistakes pointed me to the right direction. This brings me to Sigmund Freud who states, “From error to error, one discovers the entire truth.” I chose this quote because it relates to how I became a better person. For example, I did not see that I was going in the wrong path, but my brother did. All of my flaws were laid out on the table when my brother told me the hurtful truth. By making so many mistakes, I discovered the truth, which pointed me to the right path.
In our everyday lives, some people may try to hurt us by telling the truth with bad intent, but it is us who can make the best out of it. The hard truth can hurt at times, but it is up to the individual to use the truth, and reevaluate themselves. Therefore, hearing the truth in any form can be beneficial because it makes us realize our mistakes, which allows us to make the right choices from that moment on.
