Ten Lies they Tell You

(Literature Assignment, inspired by Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. "Write about ten lies that people have (or do) tell about life, school, relationships, siblings, etc.")

1. “You’ll change your mind someday”
1. Often in the context of romance: “boys are gross!” “you’ll change your mind someday”; “I don’t wanna get married” “you’ll change your mind someday”; etc.
2. Not necessarily true
3. Also, even if it were, this isn’t a good response. If someone says “I don’t like Pepsi” you wouldn’t respond “you’ll change your mind someday” because
1. It doesn’t change anything in the moment, they’re still not gonna want Pepsi
2. It doesn’t matter whether or not they will like Pepsi in the future
3. It may not be true
2. Variations of “you should have about 6 hours of homework every week”
1. Do y’all coordinate your homework assignments, or...
2. Cuz i know for darn sure that if I’m up until at least midnight every night, that adds up to More Than 6 Hours Per Week
3. “If you do the homework, this test will be a breeze”
1. Not true for a lot of people
1. Some people have trouble with tests regardless of their knowledge of the material
2. Some people have trouble remembering the homework, especially if this test includes material we went over more than a month ago
2. Oftentimes the homework is not helpful for learning information, rather, attending lectures and taking notes is crucial, therefore if you miss a day or two you can miss very important information, even if you do make up the homework.
4. “School is a Safe Place™”
1. There’ve been too many school shootings in this country for me to completely believe this
1. Like sure, I went to a really good elementary school (attitude-wise, at least), and i almost never felt significantly threatened there
2. But my friend has mentioned that they don’t feel entirely safe going to school
3. And I don’t think i’d feel entirely secure going to a public school either
2. Plus, depending on who you are, school could be the OPPOSITE of a Safe Place™
1. School is full of people, so hallways especially can be torture for someone with a sensory-processing disorder or an anxiety disorder
2. If you are labelled as one of the “dumb kids”, school can be a terrible experience
3. There are bad teachers. And if your teacher happens to get a bad impression of you, the entire year can be awful
4. If you have trouble with many school subjects, school may not seem worth the struggle
5. If you have a bad experience with someone at your school, you WILL run into them again. At some point.
6. Bullies exist.
5. “You’re one of the best classes I’ve ever had”
1. Come on, you say that to everyone.
2. And you won’t “remember all of [us]” either. Heck, I’m starting to forget some of the kids I was in the same class as for multiple years.
6. “Boys will be boys”
1. Umm no?  
2. Roughhousing to the point of injury, teasing, hair-pulling, disrespect, and irresponsibility are NOT inherent things that boys are just born with and that cannot be corrected or prevented.
3. Utter lie, but if you say that enough maybe it’ll end up being socially accepted and will be “true”
7. “You’ll find someone”
1. Shut up you know nothing
2. What if they don’t
3. What if they don’t WANT to “find someone”
4. That doesn’t help them now?
1. If you’re trying to reassure someone who is upset about not having a date, telling them that someday they will find someone doesn’t help them now
2. Just tell them that they don’t need someone to be ___ (worthy, loveable, amazing, etc?)
8. Sibling rivalry
1. No, it’s not “just normal” for siblings to hate each other’s guts
2. Argue a lot? Sure. definitely.
3. But scream at each other about any and every little thing, for months or years on end? No.
9. “We want you to get the most out of your education/this class/this year”
1. No way jose you just need to keep your job
2. Obviously a lot of teachers do care about the students but when the principal or whatever school board member or whatever says that, it’s hard to believe them based solely on the curricula used.
10. Whatever they say about “belly breaths” or “balloon breaths” or “stomach breathing” about how focusing on your belly expanding and contracting as you breathe in and out helping with stress/anxiety/panic attacks/slowing breathing
1. Actually, it’s harder to breathe if you’re focused on pushing the breath into your belly?
1. Fun fact: when I was a child I thought that your stomach contracted when you breathed in because you were sucking air out of your belly and into your chest
1. I think
2. And vice versa

Written in the order I thought of them.