My soul was never for sale, but I can't say the same about my integrity. In fact, the last time she asked me to lie, I hated it. I fumed for hours in my head, cursed the skies and everything about the situation and then told the truth in a way that made something that wasn't true seem less like a lie.

It's not enough to want to stand for something, it requires that you're willing to accept the consequences even when you're right. That's when it really hurts. The brief glory of rightness is almost immediately overwhelmed by the backlash from people who aren't used to hearing the truth.
You just called their baby ugly and there's no take backs.

It is freeing, but the world unprotected with white lies and contextual explanations is dangerous. And it's scary.

And it's the only you'll ever know what it feels like to really succeed.