My life lesson
Every part of the human world is all about making choices, the problem is felt with the fact that whatever choice one makes it is what determines what follows from there and also what happens to their lives as well. High school life has very many experiences some are good while others are not so good and every person has a story to tell about his/her experiences.
My case was not any different back in elementary school I was this shy person, one who could not speak in public and I had very few friends who were in the least social class in the school. When I joined high school I was astonished to find that people were talking to me, even most shocking the popular students in the school sought for my friendship. This was the most incredible thing for me and I could not wait to be friends with them and be one of the famous students for once. There was this group of rich students who happened to be the most popular in the whole school, every person recognized including the teachers because of their influence on the other students. One of the members Chanel started befriending me since we were sharing a class, and within no time I became a member of this group.
For the first time I got a chance to attend parties something that I had always desired to do, every weekend there was always a party that I was invited to. I never missed a chance to attend the party even during the exam period and life was flawless for me. During class time Chanel and her friends would consolidate a meeting or a road trip where we would all go and have fun. It did not ever hit me that I was wasting too much time with this group of friends and my grades were dropping, I did not care whether I had completed my assignments either. I ensured that I had at least one friend Rachel in class who would offer me her work to copy once I was done partying with my other friends.
I was lucky to go unnoticed when the assignments were collected and marked because I copied perceptively certifying that I assimilated my own understanding in the work. One time I forgot that I had a composition assignment, there was no way I was going to copy a composition because it was impossible and if I did I would get caught in my own laziness. Even with my understanding of the circumstances, there was no way I was going to let the teacher know that I had not done my assignment. So I came up with a very mean stratagem to ensure that I was not entangled in that situation. I stole Rachel’s work and I decided to submit it during the lesson, when it was her turn to submit her work she explained to the teacher that her work was lost and she noted that she knew that I was the person that had taken it. The teacher did not listen to her allegations since I was the student that was always active in class and she had never doubted that I did not do my own assignments.
In as much as I knew that what Rachel was saying was right I did not back her up and admit that am the person that had in deed submitted her work because I was too lazy to write my own composition. The teacher asked me to dictate what should happen given that she had wronged me by saying my alleged assignment was hers. I forced her to make an apology to me, and even dictated that she should announce to the whole school during lunch hour while everyone was listening that she was a lazy person. I did all this even when I knew very well that I was the person on the wrong and actually deserved to be penalized for my laziness.
What I did not know is that there was more trouble for me even though I had made an escape on this situation; my parents received my report card and a letter from the school in regard to my poor academic performance. They were so distressed and made it very clear that if I did not work hard and improve, I would be shipped off to a boarding school. I was left in a dilemma, deep down I knew that this were not good friends because they were always involved in illegal activities such as skipping school and alcohol drinking and this was unethical. My grades were no longer as good as they were when I first joined, all this was as a result of my new friends and if I did not improve I was going to be shipped off to a boarding school. I loved spending time with them and being popular but at the same time I felt that I needed to concentrate on my education, to do that I had to drop this friends and all this was a dilemma. Both of these choices had an impact on my life and it was just a matter of choosing the right one, lucky for me I chose my education to my popular friends and it helped me get good grades.
My issue with Rachel has always affected me when I think about what I did now I feel so bad and remorseful, it was a very unfair thing for me to do to anyone let alone one of the best friends I had. I ruined a great friendship all because I was selfish, and I did not want to pay for my mistakes and I let an innocent hard working person take the fall for me. I had a very good chance to come clean about the issue, especially when Rachel admitted that she I knew I was the person that had taken her assignments but I chose to keep quiet. When I reflect on what I did on that day, it hurts me so much and I am not even able to face Rachel even if I apologized to her years later. I am still ashamed of what I did and I am not even sure there is anything that can help obliterate the remorse that I feel. My experience taught me a lot about life and choices that one makes, the choice that you make in life today dictates what happens in the future. What I did then and how it has made me feel up until today is what motivates me to do what is right and more importantly always tell the truth.