CPC 2014- Winning essay "A Person's Strength Lies in his Integrity" by Sheel Patel

1st prize winning essay on age group 12 thru 15 by
Sheel Patel

A person can be big, strong, and muscular, but he is nothing without integrity. A person without integrity is like a person without feelings or voluntary actions. Integrity is a powerful and valuable trait to have. Humans are lucky to have it! We take it for granted, but without integrity we wouldn't have the modern things we use to live, indoor plumbing and shelter are a few examples! Think about it, if the people who first discovered agriculture didn't have moral principles, they wouldn't have shared it with anyone else and no one after him would know how to farm.

Everyone has this amazing trait inside of them, some people just don't like to show it, I'm talking about bullies. Integrity means controlling your actions in times of unsureness. It is also not going with somebody else, you choosing your own path, your own way. If you choose somebody else's way, it could be the wrong way. Choose your own path and if you think it's right, go for it, everyone has their own definition of the right path, but just go with yours.

Strength is also part of integrity, if you bullied someone, even if it was on purpose,you would probably feel bad and that affects your emotional strength and health. That can make you fell depressed. You always need to fill your life with positive things and people that make you happy, always show integrity. Control your actions and don't end of doing something you will regret later, even if it is 20 years away, what you do now affects your future. You cannot change the past, but you can change the future.

Integrity involves your social actions and thoughts. Don't say bad things to your friends if they're just trying to help. Control your actions, it's a lot simpler than you think. Just think about what you're going to say when you get all mad. Get involved in social activities, people won't just ask you to join, you have to jump in and do it with them! You have to take action, because odds are people won't! It doesn't mean they don't like you, it just means they aren't sure what YOU want. Those who don't are often not good at socializing who don't have a lot of friends, show courage and ask to join. If they are your friends, you know you can trust them. If they betray you, they are not true friends. Always be loyal to your friends, then they will know that you are a true friends, and chances are that they will show it back.
Integrity is the base of all other character traits, it is how you are a human being living in a house and have food on you plate. You are lucky to be going to school everyday and having water in your house and for all those other necessities you just take for granted. Those who show integrity will be successful in life by only thinking good thoughts, those who always think bad will be on the road to not succeeding just because you think you can't. Integrity is kind of like a mixture of all traits, responsibility, respect, and courteous, if you know all of those things and you will know how to get along with other people and you will have real friends that will respect you.

Imagine the world without integrity, just think, imagine humans and animals with no control over anything, no moral thoughts and actions, and no moral principles. We wouldn't be alive! Without individual actions or thoughts no inventions or things could be discovered, including new land like North America and Australia! No uniqueness makes beings boring and unexciting. No control over anything means you don't have control over what to do and how to survive in a world like ours. All plants and animals would die and the world would erode and turn into a global ghost town. It would be like an unknown planet!

Strength is the backbone of integrity, and I'm not talking about muscular strength, I'm talking about mental strength. You need to have mental strength and courage to have integrity. Nobody is perfect so no one will completely know integrity, but it is possible to have it and be a nice and smart person. That is the key to all character traits.