cheaters never win by Caulin

cheaters never win by Caulin - August 2013 Scholarship Essay

"History is boring. It's all about dead people. Why would I want to learn about people who don't even effect my life anymore?" These are the thoughts that raced through my mind as I hunkered down to my seat awaiting my test. Ms. Sanchez paced around the room, recapping all the basic rules of tests; I didn't listen of course. As the test plopped onto my desk, I realized I was far from prepared. As I glanced around for the slightest bit of help, I locked eyes with the girl at the next desk adjacent to me. I slowly mouthed her the question, awaiting patiently for an answer that would surely assist me in passing the test.The expression on my face quickly went sour when it was not her voice that I heard responding to me. It was Ms. Sanchez. She called me out in the middle of a test to declare that i had cheated. That day I recieved a zero on my test, and a week of detention.That was just the beggining. The experience was embarrassing, which my friends constantly reminded me of. My parents were dissapointed in me and scolded me for such an unruly act. This negative reinforcement drove the operant condtioning that lead me to build the self discipline I now have. Almost seven years later, I'm now successful high school student, knowledgeable enough to know that cheating will not help me in any aspects of life. As George Washington once said "We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly brought experience." Looking back at this moment from the fifth grade, I have learned that integrity is the key to self accomplishment.