Unfortunately, some things in life are not as simple as they seemed when we were children.  For instance, there is an age old cliché that says, “Honesty is always the best policy.”  Does this truly apply to every single situation we will ever encounter in life?  I am not sure it does.  What about when your best friend asks you what you think about her new love interest who happens to be a complete jerk and treats her like dirt?  Your first instinct as a friend is most likely to be forthcoming about this person.  We all want to protect our friends from others who may hurt them.  However, if you tell her the truth, is she really going to dump him/her just because of your advice?  I think not.  Rather than following your direction, she will probably pull away from you, the concerned and protective friend, and into the arms of the person who will inevitably break her heart.  If you don’t believe me, go ahead and try it out.  See if your friendship becomes distant.  I guarantee you that it will.  It has nothing to do with whether or not your friend still cares about you and everything to do with the fact that people will always have to figure these things out for themselves.  So, hop into your DaLorean and head on back to the past to fix your mistake.  Just be sure not to screw things up more than you did the first time around.  Remember “The Butterfly Effect”?      Another gray area of honesty versus dishonesty is lying by omission.  Many believe that when you are involved in deep relationships (friendships or love) that you should share every detail of your life.  If we keep things to ourselves, this is considered presenting a false persona.  Does anyone actually believe this to the point in which they apply it to every important relationship in their life?  I highly doubt it.  I will refer to another cliché which reminds us that “Some things are better left unsaid.”  Is this lying if we leave out bits and pieces of the truth?  The answer to this comes down to the importance of those pieces of information.  Do they truly make a difference in who you are and what your relationship will become?  Or are they simply little tidbits that really have nothing to do with whether or not you present your authentic self.  For example, in the event that you and your significant other break up for a period of time and then decide to get back together, are you required to tell your boyfriend/girlfriend every intimate event that transpired while you were apart?  Some would probably say that you should definitely share these things.  I would argue that it has no bearing on whether or not you should get back together and it will only bring on unnecessary jealousy and suspicion.  Now, if you happened to secretly date your girlfriend or boyfriend’s best friend while you were broken up, that might be information that needs to be shared.  If you simply had a crush on your significant other’s best friend while you were broken up but never followed through with it, in my opinion, it is irrelevant.  Revealing this to your partner may only bring about bad blood.

Sometimes I wish I could get a myspace message from God telling me exactly how to handle each sticky situation that comes my way.  He must be with all the cool people over at facebook because I can’t seem to find his profile.  Maybe he blocked me because I kept bugging him with app invites.  All that to say that some situations arise in our lives that seem to have no perfect resolution and those kindergarten lessons we learned don’t always seem to help.  Rather than following the advice of the lady from Romper Room, do what feels right to you and makes the most sense.  If that means telling your best friend that those True Religions fit looser than last year in order to put a smile on her face, do it.  Get rid of the book of rules from preschool along with your VHS copy of “10 Things I Hate About You” and do what you can live with.