Honesty


PICTURE.    


Imagine being a person who believes that honesty is one of your main personality traits but you live in a place where it is almost a taboo to be honest. When I was living in Algeria I loved expressing myself, and I enjoyed being spontaneous and sincere with it. I was always chatting with everyone, but that changed completely when I landed in Chicago. Now that I moved to Chicago, expressing myself transparently is harder to practice. Living in Chicago changed my personality by making me be less honest, and that makes me see myself differently. In Algeria one of the biggest values is honesty. I think that being brutally honest with someone is better than pleasing them with a lie. I always want to be straightforward with everyone, when they ask for my opinion. I deeply believe that being direct is where a good communication should start. In Chicago, whenever I try to give an honest advice to someone, they think that I am just being mean to them. Meanwhile, I think that I am helping them resolve the problem faster, without turning around the circle. One day, a co-worker of mine asked me if her boutique’s display looked good, so I said that it was not bad but that she could do better. She stopped talking to me for the whole day, telling me that it was really mean of me to tell her that she could do better. Trying not to be as honest as I really am is really challenging for me because I hate lying to people and my cultural value is to be honest regardless of the situation. Second, I feel like both my spontaneity and authenticity are fading away day after day, because my honesty was their main source. Being less direct makes me feel like I am constantly lying to people. That is the reason why I see myself differently. Whenever I have nostalgic thoughts, I just think of how spontaneously warm I was before being scared of hurting people’s feelings with an honest sentence. I was never expecting myself to change, but I am changing to a more pleasant speaker. This change makes me have mixed thoughts and feelings. I think that it is a good change because I don’t want to hurt anyone. At the same time, I feel like the fact that it is changing both the way I see myself and a part of my personality is not that good. In conclusion, living in Chicago made my honesty less active and changed the way I think about myself in many ways, but I still believe that honest communication is a huge key in any relationship. Living here has taught me that I need to adjust the degree of my honesty depending on the situation so I do not hurt anyone. At the same time, I am learning how to stay authentic to myself while respecting the feelings of others. Even if this change has been challenging, it is helping me find a better balance while staying authentic to myself

Comments

  1. BillyMarch 8, 2026 at 11:37 AM

    Hello, Naila.
    I have to say that your article form makes my eyes harmful. It is a honesty to harm you? Caomei, Caomei. However, i am very impressed with your opinion. I agree with your point that honesty is a very important and magnificent personality to a person. Meanwhile, people like hear what they want to hear and they are not only Americans. Sometimes, the people don't like to know the truth, they will assume a result that they want it, then they ask. This is human being. We can't change it; we only adapt it. I hope you can keep the honesty along with you for good.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aria HuangMarch 8, 2026 at 8:18 PM

    Hi Naila,
    your post really made me think. I also grew up in a culture where being direct is seen as honest and helpful. Here, I’ve had to learn to be more careful with my words too. I remember one time I gave a friend honest feedback and she got upset—I felt really bad. Do you think you’ve found a good balance now between being honest and being kind? I’m still trying to figure that out. Thanks for sharing your experience!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Naila BencellaMarch 14, 2026 at 7:55 PM

      Hi Aria,
      I feel more understood now. I am still trying to figure out how to balance between being honest and nice at the same time.

      Delete
  3. SantiagoMarch 12, 2026 at 8:08 AM

    HI Naila
    Your essay is very interesting. I like how you explained the difference between honesty in Algeria and in Chicago. It shows how culture can change the way we communicate with others

    ReplyDelete
  4. TerryMarch 15, 2026 at 6:20 PM

    Hello Aria!
    I found the story about your co-worker and the boutique display very interesting. It perfectly illustrates the "culture shock" of how honesty is perceived differently in Algeria versus Chicago. It’s a great example of a "brutally honest" moment.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wei LiMarch 15, 2026 at 8:52 PM

    Hi Naila. Your essay is interesting because it shows how living in a new place can slowly change someone’s personality and the way they communicate with others.

    ReplyDelete

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