You may not really know me but I can assure you that I am an honest person. I know you're doubtful because I plot evil schemes (as read on my posts tagged "Hunk Recordings"); I don't blame you for it, I am really sneaky. Anyway, I don't sound very convincing for you to believe (you don't know me personally) still I'll have to tell my experiences that tested my honesty.
Smaller and more frequent details first. I return money if change is given in excess, even if it's a penny. Give back wrong order (food) even if it's more expensive than my order. Never manipulated raw score when asked to check own paper. Give what's rightfully theirs. It really bothers me going against these... all I did steadfastly.
There are also circumstances that I do with "half-honesty"; I really try my best to avoid dishonesty. Trying not to cheat in class, sometimes no study and consecutive low scores influence my decision. Deducting original test score when there are corrections, my spirit of competitiveness may win over my said principle. Hiding things from people, there are some things best kept only to one's self .
My most memorable "honesty incident" happened two years ago. It was the end of class and we were all checking our final exam in a certain subject. Results were in, our teacher told us to compute the grades ourselves. Having been given the other scores that comprise the grading system, we did necessary calculations. I ended up having 89.45, so I already knew that it will yield only 89 if we strictly follow the rules of rounding off digits. But my teacher gave me a 90, don't know if she doesn't know how to "truly" round off or just a generous person. Indeed she is very generous, she gives a +5 for perfect attendance. She announced all those who got their merits for never being absent nor late. And yes you guessed it again, I was listed there too. I knew that I had been late for a day, so I said it to her. She crushed out my name from the list and left my score untouched. My other classmates said that it was an opportunity that I let go. I never said anything to them and went back to my seat, but deep in my heart I really wanted that +5 in my final grade. Can you imagine that I get a 95 instead of 90, that's near perfect. Something inside me told me to do the right thing, to be honest with my result. On the following days when our final grades were released I thought of a possibility: what if my teacher made my grade 95 as a reward for my honesty. I looked into my grade and saw a... 90, aww. I admit that I was upset at first for I am very competitive. But I later on realized that my honesty need not be recognized. No one else needs to know that you're honest especially if you know that you truly are an honest person. Also, God knows of it, knowing that is enough for a reward.
It was an experience that I never regretted in my life. :)
I narrated this story not to boast nor to make myself look self-righteous. The main reason why I wrote this is to make you realize that in this ever-corrupt world of ours, there are still a few honest people co-existing with us. My final words: Always be honest if you can, could, will, should, and must.
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