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In the middle part of the story, the author revealed more about her personal life. She revealed that the lies she created were intended to save her from her childhood.These lies created various personalities and fantasies that are more real and fun compared to her actual life. These lies were used to escape from the reality that she had a lot of problems at home.

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"Right after school, I would “live” this life of mine and play out scenes by myself. This was sheer, unadulterated fantasy. Pure fun. Even more fun and real than my actual life."

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I think this text is very relevant with today's society because social media has made it possible for people to share their daily life. With that, other people start seeking recognition and start having a fake identity online compared to their actual life. They use social media to escape reality and build a fake reality where they are recognized and looked up upon.

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Upon my initial skimming with the text, I felt like I have some similarities with the author but in a sort of opposite way. I tend to keep a very low profile towards other people and create a vague personality that is up to their interpretation.

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The author solely used a first person perspective in telling their story. Most of the other characters in the story were not really given any perspective. They are static and flat characters which are also not quite relevant in portraying the main idea of the text. In other words those characters are used only for anecdotes. However, there are still times when the author would wonder about the thoughts of other characters and would paint some vague pictures about these characters.

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After narrating about her reading her mother’s diary,  she starts narrating her realizations in life. The author narrates on why lying is lonely and that she starts questioning why people around her did not actually question her about her lies. She started wondering whether people around her did not know the truth or simply did not bother correcting her.

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The short essay “To Tell You the Truth” is an essay about their past experiences with lying and their realizations about their life about being an “expert liar” and a person who fantasizes of having the ideal childhood . The author cleverly inserted their past experiences in various chronological flashbacks in order to make a point and to further reveal the problems they are actually facing.

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"I suppose that lying is indeed a lonely business. It’s even made lonelier when it’s a child telling the lies for there is obviously something behind her words and the worlds she conjures up. There is a truth behind every lie that belongs only to the one who tells it. And yes, there is that unspoken wish in her that those around her would shake her up and let the truth stumble out of her mouth instead of the lies, lies, endless lies."

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This narration of her highlights the reason for her lies during her childhood. She needs recognition and until that point she still wants other people to recognize her lies. She is still seeking solace in people correcting her and making her more comfortable with what is real.

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The reality is that they were abandoned by their father. She would always worry about her mother’s whereabouts during the nights and she is very lonely in life. Because of these problems, she would be creating alternate personalities where she does not need to have those worries.

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For instance, in the very beginning of the story the author recounts their experience about lying and stealing money from her classmate's sister in order to buy a new notebook.

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This was came from the line,  "There was the five-peso bill in the transparent outer pocket of her peach Little Twin Stars bag that I couldn’t resist. The thought of buying a new Merit notebook with the five pesos was more than enticing."

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In another line the author stated, "All it took was a little imagination to make something up; a strong personal
conviction that I was telling the truth and the world could be mine."

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In these two lines, it can be inferred that the point they are trying to convey is that lying was a means to get the things they wanted.

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Upon reading further, I realized that there are times that I will also make small lies in order to make my personality more vague. However, the difference is that unlike them I don't like to be recognized but quite the opposite. I like when other people are not giving me too much recognition and I keep my lowkey profile.

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For instance, the lines “Did she think of me as a good student? If she did, then why wasn’t I included in the recognition day when I knew my grades qualified me for it? Did she have favourites?”, would give a little idea on how her teacher felt when she lied to her. This however would not give a complete description of what the teacher is actually feeling.

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Afterwards, they proceeded with recounting about them lying to their teacher about being part of a swimming competition. Their teacher believed them and other people would also see them as a swimmer.

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"One time, I told my favourite second-grade teacher that I had to leave the school as soon as the dismissal bell rings,
“There is a taping I have to go to, Ms. A,” I tell her. “Because I’m joining a swimming competition, see. And Channel 4 is taping it so I have to go right away.” Did Ms. A believe me? You bet. She even called another teacher to brag that she had a swimmer in her class who was joining a swim meet—and would be shown on national television."

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"To me, what mattered was that people knew about it and whenever my schoolmates saw me, I would be pulling up my
backstrokes or freestyling in their minds."

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The author ends with the present where she seems to have moved on from the past. Using it as only stories for amusement. At the same time she acknowledges that those lies are what made her who she is and she is still learning from those mistakes.

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In this scenario, the author points out how easy it is to lie and what mattered only is how other people viewed them.

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The final flashback about lying recounted how they got away with their dress by lying about their birthday.

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"One Sunday morning when students were required to hear mass in my school wearing our gala uniforms, I, for one, had wanted to wear the red gingham dress my mother just got me. I couldn’t wait to wear it as it made me feel so pretty and rich and something else entirely, and I thought that that particular Sunday morning was the perfect occasion to wear it."

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"Thing is, I came prepared for them. I decided that I could get away with not wearing the uniform if I told everyone that it was my birthday. Who would get mad at someone celebrating her birthday, right?"

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In this scenario, the author is trying to point out how lying can help them escape inconveniences.

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These flashbacks, are used by the author as anecdotes in order to make the following points: (1) Lying is necessary to get what she wants; (2) Perception of other people are what only mattered; and (3) Lying can be used to escape inconveniences.

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Despite the other characters being flat and static, there is some perspective given to her mother. She was implicitly portrayed as a strict but hardworking mother. This is implicit in the lines "As Sarah, Louise or Jane Marie, I had a father and a mother who lived together in their own house. I could study and read the books I wanted, take up art lessons or have a swimming pool in her backyard. Sarah or Louise or Jane Marie did not have to worry about where her mother would get the money for tuition or the upcoming field trip. Sarah or Louise or Jane Marie did not have to wonder why her mother beat her up with a plastic hanger even as she cried for her to stop."

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The mother is also portrayed as the catalyst for her change. After reading the diary, she stopped lying and started to embrace the truth in life. The author however, did not acknowledge this and still debates whether the mother's diary is the main reason for her change or not.

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"Midnight and she is not yet home. I go out to the balcony to keep my vigil: my chin cradled in my hands as I watch the street below and wait for Mama’s return; the neighborhood cats playing with empty beer bottles, the distant sound of a tricycle’s engine and the flickering Meralco lamppost keeping me company. This nightly pilgrimage to the balcony outside our bedroom went on for years."

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The flashbacks at the early part of the essay, together with the points included with those could be used to interpret why the author would create alternate personalities. For instance, the necessity of lying in order to get what she wants is parallel to creating personalities in order to get the safe - feeling and happiness towards her life. The flashbacks on lying in order to get away with inconveniences are parallel to her building alternate personalities in order to escape with her problems in life.  The flashbacks about lying because what mattered only are other people's view is parallel with her displaying  and acting only the personality that she wants instead of her actual life.

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From the interpretation above, the overarching themes that can be derived from the text are: (1) Necessity of Lies, (2) Escape, and (3) Perception of Other People vs. Reality.

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These three key points revealed the actual troubles faced by the author and also contributed in revealing their personality as a “young girl constantly in need of recognition, stability and solace.“