2016
Honest in All Things
April 2016


“Honest in All Things,” New Era, April 2016, 46

Honest in All Things

Alivsi H., Jalisco, Mexico

Image
young woman at school

Illustrations by Kelley McMorris

At the beginning of every semester at school, we get a free set of products containing a notebook, an agenda, and a random sample product. One year I lined up to get my set and realized that the sample I got was particularly useful for me.

At the end of the day, I saw that they were still giving samples of the same product. It would be easy to get in line again and get a second set, and I decided to do it. After all, they were free, and I needed that product.

I made a quick stop at the restroom, where I saw a cell phone that some girl had left by accident. It was one of the latest models, and I had just lost my own phone a week before. But I didn’t even consider keeping it. “That’s stealing,” I said to myself.

Then, on my way to get my second set of free stuff, I realized that would be as dishonest as keeping the phone because I would have to lie and say I hadn’t gotten one before.

I was thankful for this small experience that taught me a big lesson. I turned the phone in and went home with only one notebook, one agenda, and one sample product—but with a nice feeling for being true in all things, no matter how small.