I was filling in a job application with the help of my boss (yes he is trying to get rid of me) and we reached the 'Additional Information' section. My boss said with a smile, "if they can't prove you are lying, you can say anything" - an interesting concept but where to draw the line?!
I am an Excel Specialist. Fact. I build and maintain spreadsheets. Fact. I spent 3 months in Kenya working with orphans... sort of fact... it was actually six weeks and I visited the orphans a few times... There is bending the truth and then there is out-and-out lying.
Does the same apply to life? If people cannot prove you false, can you be anyone you want to be? Can you build a persona then change your life to fit that persona? If that is possible who would I want to be?
I am not talking about claiming to have invented the microwave or self-adhesive stamps. That would just be silly.
A friend and I were in a bar when a girl came over to make conversation and asked what we do for a living. I instinctively said "writer". I am not a writer. At least not now. If it is not currently true, why did it come so naturally?
Because a writer is what I am, not what I do. I must keep telling myself that.
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