I have been seated with our school valedictorian last year. I have seen how he became the valedictorian. He always took extra time in taking tests. He never let go of a test until he had finished. I wasn't surprised; he was smart and he definitely knew it, But he never got cocky. If he does say he's smart, it's usually just a joke. He was just like all of us students, but he was able to get rid of his "just student" status and astonished our teachers when his name was the one called in the stage.

I was also friends with the salutatorian. We have been childhood friends since birth, so I knew that she was smart. She didn't let our valedictorian's intelligence stop her attempts in trying to overtake him. She was fully motivated and had the brains for the job. I always admired her. She was able to ace a test that was so hard for me. I was never that smart, although. Because she was, well, beaten, she tries harder this year. At times, she uses her recess for lunch and her lunch for studying.

This year, I have been seated near some...unadmirable students. I have seen them stoop down so low to cheat. Their reason? "It was unfair." Yeah, well, they're not the only ones treated unfairly. All the others received the same treatment too, but they were the only ones--in my knowledge--that cheated. I saw how comfortable they were with their plan and I didn't see an inch of guilt in their eyes.

One of my closest friends cheated once too. I couldn't believe it. I never expected her to do such a thing. She was smart, though she would never really admit it. I denied it so much that I learned to teach my mind that it wasn't true. If she was someone else, she would've have done it again. I should've had confronted her about it; I should have told her that it was wrong.


I cheated once too. I admit it; I have. We just had a seatwork and had a quiz immediately after. My seatmate didn't bother to hide his seatwork in his bag; he just put it on top of it. (But he never looked at it). I sucked at that subject, so I decided that it wouldn't be so bad to cheat...I remember thinking, 'Just one time...I'll just do it this time only...'

Since I was never really used to that kind of stuff, I got really guilty and even when I got a high score in the quiz, I didn't feel happy. I felt guilt the whole week and didn't even feel like touching the computer in the weekends. I never told someone about it; I wanted to turn myself in, I really wanted to. But I would get a low grade and a De Merit. I was running for honors, so I decided not to tell.

I've learned from my mistake and vow to never do it again. Guilt doesn't taste too good and I'd always prefer getting an honest mistake than a cheated answer. I hope you agree with me too. :)