I think that, once upon a time, you meant what you said.

I think that, once upon a time, you could make a promise.

I think that, once upon a time, you could commit to something.

But then you had your seventh birthday. You reached the magical age of reason, and you started paying attention to the world around you.

You saw the brokenness and pain outside the little bubble you had been locked in.

You saw your older siblings and parents get away with things, and you figured you could too.

You probably started with little white lies, looking back now they were silly and trivial and not worth the effort you put into keeping them up. But these lies took something away from you. They took away innocence and put you down a path that is nearly impossible to recover from.

Your lies grew bigger, and so did you.

By the time you were 12, promises had started to lose their meaning.

You shared secrets that weren't yours to share.

Today, you probably don't even know where that kid you promised to be a friend forever is living. You probably haven't spoken in years.

Promises quickly became empty, broken, and meaningless.

As you entered into high school, you forgot what it means to commit. To put your name on something and stick to your word.

You left chores undone, essays unfinished, and texts unanswered.

You signed up for an astronomical amount of clubs and activities, but would often quit within a month. Leaving others to pick up your slack. You went through jobs like hats, unable to stay in one place.

You would show up to a party, only if you felt like it, and when you chose to, regardless of your host's schedule. You had a schedule of your own and everyone should work around you.

This attitude only increased as you entered into college. Flaking out on plans was normal, and no one expected more from you than an 'oh I'll try to stop by.' Committing to something was too big of a commitment, but not committing was just as scary. You would make dates and promises with absolutely

Everyone wants to blame the millennials. Tell us exactly how we screwed up this world. Even I want to say that this is just our generation. That we are at fault. That we're the first to fall into this. But we learned from someone. We didn't figure it all out on our own.

The generation ahead of us is just as bad, if not worse.

The biggest promise a person could make, the biggest commitment, the largest declaration of a beautiful truth, Marriage, has completely lost its meaning. We've been raised in a society where divorce is the far too often norm.

Employers make promises and contracts, just to turn around and back out of their word.

I want words to mean something. I want you to be able to commit to something without feeling needy or clingy.

We've come to a place where we are skeptical of almost everything, and often the truth of how someone feels about something can only be seen in their actions.

So, I ask you for your help. Help me to break this cycle. Give your words meaning again.

Keep your promises, stick to your commitments, and tell the truth.

Remember that an ugly truth will always be better than a beautiful lie.