Decisions whether big or small are among the necessary foundation to a person’s life and every human being has to decide almost every aspect of their lives. Although we have the freedom of decision making, our decisions are required to be honest and appropriate in the situation encountered. Every decision made has either a positive or negative consequence, which makes it even more important to weigh out decisions before making one. My encounter was no different,  given an exam which was challenging and settling for a lower grade was not in the plan; I had to maneuver away. Two options were available to pick from; first, it was to do my best during the test while the other was to post the questions on GroupMe where i would get assistance. Groupme is the standard tool used by most students to get higher grades in exams that are challenging. It took less than five minutes to arrive at a decision which was to make use of the GroupMe.

Peer pressure, fear, and pride were the primary influence in my decision making. The use of GroupMe was so common that if a new student were admitted they would think that GroupMe is part and parcel of the tools needed during the exam period. The students are always talking about their experiences with GroupMe and how they scooped high grades with zero revision during lunch and break time hours. These created a sense of pressure to want to be part of the experience and also considered to be ‘cool’. The fear of failing and having a quarrel with my parents because of my grades was another thought that was unbearable. It was like my whole life depended on that particular test; therefore I was willing and ready to look for good grades by any means. Pride would not allow me to answer a few questions while leaving the others blank. I wanted to answer all the questions, and this was only possible through GroupMe since the test was challenging. In the long run, these three were the reasons I considered before making my decision to cheat using GroupMe.

Consequences being part of the decision-making process, it was vital to consider and weigh out the different consequences that would arise due to the decisions made. The school is having a set of rules and regulations regarding exam irregularity; I was ready to chew my bone if caught. The three consequences being detention, expulsion, and suspension. After carefully analyzing the situation, I could only see two possible outcomes that I would arise if I .were caught at that time. The two were detention and suspension; I convinced myself that it was easier to go through the two than having a lower grade. In addition to that, I knew there was also a possibility that I could finish the test without being caught and that would be a plus for me.

Other options that were available to pick from apart from the two which I focused on was to copy from my nearest classmate or walk out with my exam paper knowingly and pretend that I was not present during the time of the exam. I ruled out these two options since after carefully analyzing their consequences they were too broad to be able to predict what would the result be from the decision made. If I had taken the option of walking out with my exam paper, one of the consequences would have been detained for lying to the teacher. The various CCTV cameras would pick me up entering both the school compound and classroom that day, and that would provide the evidence I was present. Well apart from lying, the situation would escalate to exam irregularity since I left with the exam paper which would result in suspension automatically. These two consequences mention above are among the many consequences that would have followed suit depending on how the teacher views the situation. This was the reason why I opted not to consider the two options their consequences are hard to predict, it entirely depends on the person in charge to decide the result.

The ultimate consequences that I had to face were detention and a two-week suspension which was inclusive of only the school days. The teacher also decided that I take another test and I did it in the detention room where I was to be alone with only the supervisor. After the completion of the exam in the detention room, They gave me my marching orders with my suspension letter which had the whole incident addressed. While taking the test in the detention room is when I realized that all the struggles I had put, all had gone to waste. I was back to square one, not knowing or understanding the test and I had to provide correct answers as I possibly could. The consequences I faced, both relate to the choice I made. The decision to cheat would have given me an advantage over the other fellow students. As a result, the teacher made me retake the paper honesty and fairly, pointing out that honesty and fairness are the virtues every student should follow. The two-week suspension, helped me to reflect on my decision-making skills and improve to be a student of integrity.

The decision I took has impacted me negatively in various aspects of my life. First of all, it was quite an embarrassing situation been caught cheating. In a way my relationship with my teacher grew hostile, the next tests I was majorly focused on so that I would not cheat again. The antagonistic relationship made me a little bit uncomfortable while in class, but I had to endure since it was as a result of my decision making. The school used me as an example to warn fellow students against the vice of cheating. This incident lowered the chats and murmurs about the use of GroupMe in the school compound among the students. The students would keep their mouth shut about their experiences on GroupMe if heard talking about it; one was taken to be an exam cheater. Many of the students decided that they wanted nothing to do with GroupMe especially during the exam periods. This has increased honesty and integrity among the students.

I have learned quite a number of things as I was going through the student conduct process. The process has guided me to develop myself in life long skills which include integrity and resiliency.  Honesty has taught me to hold myself accountable, to personally put up convictions within me. To make use of the conducting process as an opportunity to also reflect upon while determining my core value and convictions in my actions. The encounter with the conduct process has enabled me to become much more aware of my convictions, where I thoroughly examine these convictions critically, taking note of my behavior while holding myself accountable for every decision I make along the way. Resiliency which I learned from the process, transformed the adversities in me into an opportunity for growth. An infringement of the Code of Conduct is an unfavorable event in a student’s school experience and received as a learning background. It was from my experience that I learned the importance of honesty and integrity.

Experience is the best teacher if given similar circumstances as the one above I would resort to a much better decision-making method. On completion of the conduct process, my decision would have been different from the one I took then. Use of GroupMe to cheat was a wrong decision; I would have done the test to the best of my knowledge. Knowing that it is better to have a low grade which would help one evaluate their weakness rather than having a higher grade that lies to them that they are doing well. Various schools encounter this very problem of students cheating in examinations. In the future, I would want to offer seminars that address the issue of cheating which has eaten our schools’ core values. the workshops would encourage and help other students to be more responsible and not end up in irregularity issues outside the school compound.

I have taken various steps to fix the negative implications brought by my actions. With the teachers and parents have seen me as an indiscipline student because of the incident, I have decided to work extra hard to impress both my parents and teachers. The hard work will also enable me to gain back their trust as it used to be. Some students also began to mock me because the school administrators got to know the secret ways in which the students used to attain higher grades without much hard work. I will have to use the same conduct process that helped me figure out that what I was doing was wrong and unfair. Therefore, explaining and teaching the other fellow students the importance of honesty and integrity. Their understanding of the conduct process would enlighten them in such way that they would stop mocking me and painting me as the lousy student but would all join to eliminate this bad habit in and around the school.

According to the Oxford dictionary, integrity is the strict adherence to a moral code, reflected in transparent honesty and complete harmony in what one thinks, says, and does. To me, Integrity is the place where your self-interests and the best interests of others converge. It is having good ethics and values, but also acting from a place of authenticity (because that is who you are) and not from a place of duty or obligation. Integrity is not martyrdom to a cause, although many people confuse the two. Honesty is ultimately a personal choice, it depends on the person’s principles. This is the hallmark of a student who shows upright moral values.  Genuineness and uprightness are of necessary attributes to have in your scholarly and proficient life. In school, good student-teacher relationships originate from common appreciation and trust, and those connections can prompt incredible references and suggestions.

There many ways how other students may benefit from relying on my integrity. When I have made a promise, being required to keep it and fulfill it otherwise I would be a dishonest person. If my fellow students ask for my help in assignments or other related activities, I should be able to help them accordingly but if I refuse to and I do know how to, then am not an integral person. Along the way, we encounter lost people asking for direction, to uphold integrity one should direct them willing fully and correctly. I too can benefit from the integrity of others in various ways. In a situation where I have lost my money, and someone has found it, only an honest person will return it to me. While buying new electronics or goods, I depend on the integrity of the seller to sell me a genuine product and at a reasonable price. Buying and selling products online require honesty since the buyer or seller might decide to go silent after payment, but it is through integrity that the transaction goes well.

In Conclusion, every decision made results to some consequences either positive or negative. One should strive to make a decision that are of positive outcomes in their lives. Honesty is the only way to go, it will bring fairness and each, and everyone will have a fairground to compete on. In situations where one has done wrong, they should accept and correct their ways. Therefore, making integrity being among the core value of our society.

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