Truth & Fiction

Whenever I stand in line at the grocery store I try to make it less obvious that I'm holding up the cashier just to read what new drama Brad and Emily from The Bachelor have gotten into. I pretend to consider the ridiculous amount of gum varieties while actually indulging in a guilty pleasure of gossip, ridicule, and celebrity "news". I know tabloids are ridiculous. That's why I refuse to spend any money on them. But I can't help but be shocked at which star is now pregnant, divorced, or in jail. I don't even know who these people really are and yet I'm enthralled by what some mediocre writers with flashy headlines have to say about them.

It's so easy to blend the truth with fiction. I did it in my last post without even checking facts or thinking twice about what I wrote before hitting "publish". Now my cheesy review of Wolfe & Associates is out there for everyone on the web to see. I'm living in an apartment under contract with them next year, for goodness sake. But I still have the power to change public reception of their company for better or worse just on whim. Tomorrow I'll probably forget my prank and move on to another target. We go through life telling little white lies and protecting others from what we truly think about them only to come home and "relax" with an episode of Jersey Shore. What is reality television? How much of it is real, and how much of it is meant to make a profit?

Reality is whatever we say it is. Our minds have the insane ability to create a personal world. It doesn't matter if I'm a compulsive liar or if I'm Snooki trying to make a little cash by being a lovable idiot on TV. Politicians lie all the time and we still elect them to office. I think it's practically impossible to go through life always telling the truth. Sure, we'd like to think of ourselves as honest and compassionate, but I bet you've gossiped about a friend without talking to them first. I bet you fibbed a little on your college application essays to make your life more vivid, more interesting, more what other people want to hear and less of what mundane event actually happened. Lying is bad. No one wants to be called a liar, it's insulting. But maybe if we call our lies "fiction" we'll forget the negative connotation and replace it with a whimsical, creative, and twisted version of reality.