I suppose it all started years ago when I was a freshman at Ames High School. The perils of my personal life were nothing compared to the consequences for cheating. I won’t go into much depth, but it was a difficult time for me. I can’t quite remember the first time I cheated  on something. It was probably something small and insignificant, most likely a problem or a question on a homework assignment. In all probability, I wanted to get back to one of my depression naps or stress eating. I do, however, remember feeling wracked with guilt. That feeling would soon diminish.

Sophomore year was probably the year I cheated the most, although the cheating I committed during this year was limited to one class. On a side note, my entire high school career seemed to be trapped in a never-ending cycle of all-encompassing personal problems. Although the problems from my freshman year had temporarily been bandaged, some new life challenges had sprung up.

Anyways back to the story, mostly everyone cheated in this class except for maybe one or two people at the most. While everyone else was cheating to maintain their 4.0s, I was cheating to maintain a passing grade. Now that I think about it, I should have just failed the class and taken it online like so many of my other peers. I suppose I could have cheated a little less if it weren’t for the fact that I spent so much of my class time lusting after an unattainable dream. That and like so many of my classmates viewed the class as below us and trivial.

Before my junior year started, I subconsciously promised myself I  wasn’t going to cheat on anything because I was becoming one of the biggest hypocrites I knew. Publically I  had denounced cheating, while committing the same crime in private. It soon became clear that I wasn’t going to be able to entirely keep that promise. That year I didn’t cheat on any tests, but I can’t say I didn’t find a few quizlets to use on my homework.

And that brings me to this year. I no longer feel the need to cheat. I finally figured out the perfect class loads and levels for myself. I realized that in years past  I was putting way too much on my plate. And that the people in normal classes were in fact normal people. This all brings me to my closing remarks.

If you sense that things are getting too hard, I urge you to speak up. Tell your teacher or go talk to your counselors. That is what they are there for, after all. High school is stressful enough. There is no need to overload your schedule with multiple AP or advanced classes. Now don’t get me wrong: If you excel in certain areas, then go for that AP class. But if you are a normal person like me, then there is nothing wrong with admitting that. As it turns out, regular classes teach you all the same things but in a more palatable way.