Honesty and truth are two of the most important qualities an individual can have. It is often difficult, though, for many to be honest in a world full of lies and deceit.

We all know the truth is right and misleading someone is wrong.

Yet at the same time, deceit seems to continue to occur in our lives in one way or the other.

Each of us has done it, and a lot of times, people don’t even realize they’re doing it.

Regardless, it is wrong because, in the end, someone always gets hurt.

For example, President Clinton lied to the nation about the Monica Lewinsky incident.

What he did was wrong, but if he would have just come out and admitted it, then large amounts of our money wouldn’t have been wasted and his credibility would still be intact.

Instead, he chose to lie and mislead the entire nation and his family.

Due to his lack of responsibility and his need to act on impulse, his life will forever be changed.

He was wrong, and now many people, including himself, are feeling the pain from his selfish decision.

Throughout my entire 21 years of life, my parents have taught me nothing but truth, honesty and goodness.

I have been raised to be a very open individual and to never intentionally hurt anyone.

I know what it is like to be lied to and hurt, so I made a promise to myself to never do that to anyone.

For the most part, I have lived my life as my parents taught me to live it, and I have fulfilled my promise to myself.

I always say what’s on my mind, and I’ve always been very blunt and straightforward.

I have realized it is easier to not hide things because being open about everything gives you a better chance of not misleading anyone.

I’ve learned that sometimes the truth is hard to admit and accept, but in the end it hurts a lot less than deceit.

Unfortunately, sometimes people get so wrapped up in a particular situation that they just don’t do the right thing.

I know this because I have seen it while following President Clinton’s situation, and also because recently I got so wrapped up in a particular situation that I neglected to do the right thing and misled someone that I cared very deeply about.

After preaching openness and honesty my whole life, even I got wrapped up in the crazy world of deceit.

Whether I meant to do it or not isn’t the issue. I did. And as always, someone was hurt because of it.

Instead of just being open and truthful, I withheld an important piece of information — and because of that, my credibility was destroyed and someone else was affected by my decision.

I am not going to try to say that because Clinton is the leader of our country and he screwed up, it is all right for me to screw up.

That would be like someone blaming their dog for eating their homework.

Typically when you make bad decisions, it is your own fault, and there is nobody to blame but you.

I went against everything I have ever believed in, and I didn’t even realize I was doing it.

I also didn’t think about what consequences would come out of my decision.

Looking back on the situation, that person is angry. I feel horrible because someone thinks I would actually intentionally hurt them, and as usual, nothing was gained from misleading someone.

I don’t believe Clinton intentionally hurt his family, nor did I plan to hurt someone.

However, it all comes down to making a bad choice.

As President Clinton will probably regret his decision for the rest of his life, I will forever regret those few moments when I wasn’t an open and truthful person.

Deceit is not something that is easily forgiven, if ever forgiven at all.

For this reason it is crucial to think before you speak.

Make sure what you say is taken the right way, and if you lie to someone, know that your decision to do that will hurt or affect that person in one way or another.

Sometimes it might even end up hurting you more than if you would have just laid it all out on the table.

I know it hurt me more.

Truth, honesty and goodness. Those are three of the hardest things to live by sometimes, but they are the three best ways to live a life.

No matter how hard it is to tell the truth and to be open, holding back, misleading or lying isn’t worth it.

I know I will always be sorry for the decision I made, but life goes on, and we all learn from our mistakes.

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Amy Hillman is a senior is journalism and mass communication from Grand Junction.