WHEN TO COMMIT CHEATING?

A Question between Dishonesty and Virtue

The leaf had fallen on her toe. For some, it might just symbolize the arrival of fall, an ordinary
change of season as the driven heart of the sun find its way to rest. But for her, it could mean
losing her dreams, more significantly, the trust and hope of the people she loves, one by one,
until everything seemed to leave her behind.
“Have you received your grades, Cali? I hope, you have improved.” It was her mom from the
other line. Ever since she begun college, she had been 20 miles away from her family, from
home, every day. It was tough, being alone every two or three months yet she still managed to
stand, perhaps the fire inside her is always alive along with her dreams for her family. But now,
she didn’t know. That fire grew colder as the leaves got drifted by the wind.
“I haven’t mom. But it’ll be fine. Anyway, our final exam will be next week.”
She shouldn’t fail for the second time. Never did she want to hear any sound of dismay from
her mother’s voice again.
“Cali. Cali. Heyyy.”
Someone whispered from her back. It was Maureen. But it wasn’t just a simple hi or hello. It
was a different call, with eyes illuminating illusions— an escape from the reality, from the truth.
One small move, then she would have the answers right away. But also, one small move could
change everything, even her personal views. Will she grab the opportunity?
It’s easy to say that cheating is bad. That we should not cheat. Some people would say that it’s
more rewarding to hold your test paper which you honestly answered. Well, they are right and
that is true. However, when the pressure is on, is it excusable to commit cheating for the sake
of reaching the passing grade or magnetizing the look of our parents and other significant
people away from the edge of disappointments?
Final answer? Of course, not.
Cheating is equivalent to failure. As one resort to cheating, the seeds of persistence, dedication,
diligence, and sacrifice remain as seeds and never have the chance to grow leaves and
branches, to sprout a light and triumph. It might seem to be the easy way out, but it could be
easily be washed away by wind or drops of rain. One might gain high grades than expected, but
it can never be labeled as success for it’s still a lie dressed in disguise.
Cheating can imprison you. As you indulge yourselves to the theory of believing that future
solely lies on awards, human honor and efforts, surely, you would find yourself suspended on
despondency when you didn’t reach the expectation level. Cheating would be your fruit of
action to carry on, to not fail again. You would yield the grades you think you deserved, but that
would always confine you inside a hundred square meter area of box. Always looking above but
never have the chance to explore the fields around.
Cheating can grow into a catastrophic habit. As they say, every habit begins with a single,
seemingly harmless deed. If you have escaped from being caught the first time you tried
cheating, you might think of repeating the act again until you have committed your nth
cheating acts which could be reflected on the other aspects of your life. The instant cheat you
have made could bloom into harmful trees of deceiving people.
While cheating is bad and is never a solution, I, myself, could not blame the students when they
chose to use this weapon for them not to be drowned in the sea of failures. After all, life may
sometimes require the highest vantage point if you want to earn a spot in the world. However,
at the end of the day, everything must fall like the leaves of the trees when the autumn lingers
through the doorsteps. Fall as life calls but grow and soar once more, with a new blossom, with
a new life.
“Cali. Will you not take this?”
Cali knows the right. And she only needs a crumpled tissue to wipe her tear-stricken face and
sweaty skin as she wrote on her test paper the word, honesty.