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To Sam

Lie too far

I've lied about something to my guidance teacher see I never liked going to registration and I lied and said I had to meet my cousin with the keys and she started asking more questions then I told her that I stayed with my cousin and then she asked for my mums number and I gave her mine ect I've just lied and lied about silly little things that's turned into a big thing but she wants to phone my mum and I'm so scared cause I want this to be over I lied about something so stupid now it's back fired I really don't want to admit that to my mum cause she'll think I'm crazy maybe I am for lying like that but I really didn't mean it and I'm really sorry what should I do I feel so embarrassed and stupid I know you'll think I'm stupid and I probably am please help me get out of this what should I say to my guidance teacher??? :( 
Ask Sam

Sam

Hi there,

Taking responsibility for our actions is the right thing to do, but this can be really difficult. It can be embarrassing but it can also be a relief. If we tell a lie it can often need other lies to cover it up. Before we know it, there are too many lies to keep track of. You seem to know that the best option is to talk to your guidance teacher, and I agree with you.

You’re worried about what you can say to your guidance teacher, but you’ve already told me you didn’t mean for this to happen and you’re really sorry. It seems to me you’ve got the beginning of what you could say to your teacher right there.

I also think you could be truthful with your teacher about why you didn’t give her the correct phone number for mum. It sounds like you felt panicked about mum finding out and maybe your teacher will understand. Telling your teacher might be hard, but try and imagine how relieved you might feel afterwards when you don’t have to worry about it anymore.

You haven’t said why you’ve never liked going to registration. If there’s something going on there that your guidance teacher should know about, this might be the time to talk about that too.

You’ve said something wise in your letter. You say that lying about little things can turn into a big thing. I think this is true. I know this can happen and it doesn’t mean you’re crazy. Perhaps a better way to look at it is that you are human, we all make mistakes and you can learn from this experience.

ChildLine is here to help if you want to talk to a counsellor about what you can say to your guidance teacher. Sometimes practising what you might say can help build up your confidence. We also can talk to you about whether it might be good to talk to your mum about what’s happened, if that’s something that starts to worry you.

Take care,
Sam

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