"I wanted to hook up with you so I could tell my friends I f'ed an Asian girl."

These were the words he spoke to me over the phone after we had shared a few long, pleasant conversations with each other. Despite anything that could have developed between us, I made sure to keep at a distance, lest I should feel compelled to cut things off in their intensity. And indeed, I was so touched and impressed by the charm and honesty of his words that I could not help but hang up the phone and never call him again.

Honesty is certainly a great thing. And the carelessness and naïveté of youth serves well to enhance that particular quality. I might go so far as to say that adolescence is the time of life in which the truth should run most free, even when it hurts to get mauled and shredded to pieces by it. Being young, free from most of the restrictions and responsibilities of adulthood, open to the world and its glorious ways, is the perfect state for telling and being told the truth.

There is hardly a reason not to be honest. Grades, friends, and family relationships are poor excuses for lying. What is the agony of a low test score after sleeping in, or being grounded for saying where you really were last night, to the pure feeling of sincerity? It is indeed a toss-up.

If I could only recount all the times I've benefited from the truth! I can remember when I was running in my last cross country race. This coach came along and ran beside me, yelling, "Relax your arms! Look straight ahead! You're dead last!" I nearly stopped and hugged him. Another time, on the way to a school dance after dinner, my date turned to me and said, "Thanks for coming with me. I couldn't pick between these two other girls, so I decided to ask you." I was exceedingly flattered.

In the end, I must say that I prefer honesty to insincerity. There is so much beauty in the truth. Every time I see a girl beating her boyfriend after telling her about his on-the-sides, or a face growing red after hearing "constructive criticism" on his or her wardrobe, I am reminded of the miracle of honesty, and am grateful for its presence on this Earth. Nothing could bring more joy to my heart. In fact, I might just call that boy back.