The Easy Road vs. The Right One

People have many things to worry about every day, especially if you’re a student.

“Did I turn in my assignment?”

“Is there a quiz today?”

“Do we have practice today?”

“Oh no! I didn’t turn in my math assignment!”

Our minds are constantly on the run, never getting a chance to stop and rest. Yet we keep going; racing to get things done the best we can. Once in a while, though, we get desperate to the point where we ignore all values and rules and do the one thing every teacher warns against:

Cheating or copying.

We’ve all had those thoughts before, and you can’t say anything against it (if you do, you’re not human)! But here’s the thing; the whole point of having challenging assignments and quizzes is to prepare you for the next step. Yes, it sounds like something your science teacher would say to you on the first day of school, but it is true. There’s no denying it! 

The only thing that’s worse than Googling answers is copying off of other people. It’s like having someone piggyback you over a mountain; you don’t do anything, while the other works two times harder. If you ask me, there is nothing worse you can do to yourself, and to the people around you than becoming nothing more than a simple burden to carry.

Hi! Today is all about piggybacks! No, not the piggybacks your parents give you after a long walk. I’m talking about the ones some students unwillingly give others every day, and it doesn’t benefit either one of them.

It’s not a surprise to anyone that there are people out there who just don’t work. They would rather sit on their couch and binge-watch a TV show while other kids struggle to stay awake all night studying. I’m not one to judge study routines, but there is a huge difference between taking small breaks now and then and completely ignoring every assignment, test, and quiz just because of the confidence that you can copy off someone else.

Let me give you a scenario:

Lucy, a girl who takes pride in her time management skills and good grades, studies for her first chemistry test. She asks her friends and siblings questions, watches videos, and talks to her teacher for confirmation every day. Even after all that, she still doesn’t understand the subject completely. On the test day, she walks inside and tells herself one thing: “It’s going to be fine as long as you just do your best.” 

During the test, she sees that Nathan, the kid sitting next to her, quietly whispers the questions on his test into his Apple watch. Lucy knows the kid because he always asks for the answers to every assignment. Lucy, being the shy kid she is, gave her answers to him all the time. But she thought that he would study the answers and the notes before the test, not cheat! Yet, she decided to ignore it.

Afterward, Lucy leaves the class with a solid ninety on her test. She feels ecstatic that she did so well, even if she didn’t comprehend the entire unit thoroughly. Later in the day, she overhears Nathan bragging that he got a ninety-four on his test, one of the highest grades in the class.

…

This shouldn’t be a new story to most people. We all know that cheating is real, and copying is the easiest form of it. But, honestly, if you were in Lucy’s shoes, how would you feel? After studying so hard, and doing everything that could possibly help, you still get a lower score than the person who doesn’t know anything and relied on your work the entire unit. That has got to hurt. Truly, it may not be a big deal to the person cheating, though. I mean, the only thing that matters to them is passing, right? Whatever they do to get there doesn’t matter.

I’ll say one thing: people can do whatever they want, but if they keep going in this direction, it’s bound to kick them in the butt at one point. Not only is it infuriating for the person doing the work, but it is also incredibly aggravating to the people around you who study and care.

Now, I’ve heard all the excuses; baseball practice, stress, confusion, lack of sleep, and the list goes on. My question is that if you have such busy events and stress in your life, then what’s the point of being in the class?

There’s a saying: “Sometimes the right path, isn’t always the easy one”. Maybe it’s time we reiterate this. Yes, school is hard, and the tests are sometimes the hardest part. But if you value yourself enough to do the exercises given to prepare yourself, I assure you, it will be worth it. I mean, if every cheater, puts the energy they use to cheat into studying instead, there would be no reason whatsoever to look piggyback over another. 

“Meh. I don’t find the appeal. I would rather keep my sanity than waste away over a couple of math problems.”

Sure! Keep the laziness you call sanity. One day, you will get to a point where no one’s willing to help you with an assignment. No one’s going to give you the answers to those math problems, and no one will tell you specifically to study. What will you do then? Who are you going to piggyback on?

You see, the only way to achieve something is to work. It’s the only way! If you don’t like that reality, then maybe you’re focusing on the wrong side of it. Today might be tedious and stressful, but if you do your work correctly, then tomorrow you will be able to get a full night’s rest. Honestly, if the reward is a peaceful sleep, there’s no telling how long I would work in a day!

What Do You Think?

Like I said before, we’ve all had those impulsive thoughts to do something that we know we’ll immediately regret. Or, we’ve seen people follow through with those thoughts in real-time. What do you think is the answer to these questions? 

• What is or was your hardest subject in school? Do you know why?

• Have you ever thought of cheating or copying? What was your reasoning?

• Today, if you knew that someone cheated, what would you do? Why?