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.
It is always hard to hear the truth if it’s not a positive one. I’m glad your brother said what he did because it’s better to change your life when you’re younger than to wait and continue hurting yourself and others around you.
ReplyDeleteNow that I’m a parent I’m sure there will be a day when I need to tell my son the hard truth. My son’s biological father left when he was six months old. We were together and I thought it was going to last and he would change. When we were together he never could hold a job and still wanted to party by drinking and smoke marijuana. As it was we didn’t have much money to live on and this was one of our biggest fights. I knew that I didn’t pick the best person to be a father, but I knew I had to be the best mother I could be. This is what you did after hearing the hard truth you finally took your life in the right direction. At six months old Deric’s father ended up drinking too much and putting his hands on me. The very next day he did the best thing for Deric and I and left not looking back.
I haven’t told Deric about his real father if you can call him that, because he never calls and hasn’t help in the last five years. I don’t want to tell Deric the truth but I know some day he will ask and I will have to tell him why his Dad and I are not together.
As for your story, I would like to know more. Are you and your brother still not close? Did you never tell him you changed because of his comment? I would want to know that I made a difference in someone’s life specially if they were family. It looks like your heading in the right direction and you should be very proud of yourself. Not everyone can walk away from the life style you were living. The longer you stay away from a career or school the harder it gets to change.