Personal Narrative: Trouble Whith my Education

On December 21, 2018, I received news from my university’s honor board that I had been accused of plagiarizing an assignment. I, in turn, spent the entire winter break thinking about the extent of plagiarism committed and the subsequent consequences of this incident. Later, I learned that it was very minor and that I had accidentally ignored to put proper references ('insufficient citations'). I consider it a lesson well-learned in that even such a minor mistake will have a strong impression on my work ethic here forward.

This experience has been etched into my mind, and it will live within the depths of my conscientious to eternally remind me to never come close of committing the same act again. I now know that any act defying basic principles of integrity and probity should not be disregarded for surely the ramifications of such acts will catch up to me. I can confidently say that I am a bright individual, and I have showcased my intelligence and academic worth at numerous locations in numerous levels. I am fortunate to have my acumen been recognized in high school and been subsequently awarded a generous supplement of money to fund my college journey. As a recipient of the Benacquisto Scholarship, I can acquire a worthy education at the University of Florida for four years at no cost. If the repercussions for my charge ended up any worse, then I would have had to withdraw from the course and risk losing my scholarship. This situation would have then propagated an adverse effect on my family’s finances.

I am a Type 1 diabetic, and we annually allocate a large sum of money toward buying medications and supplies. My family members were upset about this incident as they bestowed both financial and emotional stress. Subsequently, the winter break was unenjoyable and dreary. I joined UF partly because I would be receiving a full-ride scholarship. If I lose this source of funds, I could not afford to receive such a promising education and in turn must transfer to my local college (the University of South Florida). If the final course grade is not decided by end of February, my scholarship may not be renewed, and I would have to risk losing the guaranteed money. Even though I wanted to appeal for a less severe punishment, this would postpone the final decision date outcome, and it would be very likely that the case would be closed in time for my renewal. I have come to learn that the honor code violation process is time-consuming, and I could have avoided this situation by being a little bit more careful about using my references.

Also, this 1-credit course grade is affecting my overall GPA more so even though I have very impressive grades in other difficult courses. This may impact my future opportunities and look bad on my resume. This situation has therefore taught me that here on out, I should have confidence in my own work and confide in the worth of my academic efforts so that I will not even have to think of making small mistakes like this again. Aforementioned, I have type 1 diabetes, and I have to manage my glucose levels by taking insulin externally with an insulin pump. My responsibilities include monitoring glucose levels, overseeing proper insulin delivery, and maintaining healthy control with my CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor). Sometimes, high blood sugars (hyperglycemia) is onset by stress, a prudent trend seen during exam season for many college diabetics like me.

Balancing adequate carbohydrate counting on top of learning what a carbohydrate is took a toll on health and, in turn, my performance. Since this assignment was due around the same time, it is likely that my poor health affected my decision in how to complete this assignment. While this is not an excuse for my mistake, I believe it is worth mentioning as part of this reflection. I have dissected my initial rationale and have analyzed the flaw in my original thinking. I will actively work to avoid pursuing this same path in the future, and I want to assist others so that such a mistake will not have to be repeated. Last week, I attended the Avoiding Plagiarism and Properly Citing Sources Seminar, an educational workshop on how to properly cite, paraphrase, and attribute sources used in academic work. The workshop addressed how actions like mine can avoid being repeated if I adopted a variety of tips to utilize when writing another paper in the future. Now, I understand several key issues in the different ways that individuals within the University regard plagiarism, both from a faculty and a student perspective

. This workshop has shed light on my situation and educated me about using various techniques to improve my study and information literacy skills. I learned about the need to ensure that students understand what plagiarism means and gained experience in skills like paraphrasing, summarizing, and referencing. I understand that there is thin line between plagiarism and skills like paraphrasing, summarizing, and referencing. I also learned about the assessment strategies for plagiarism prevention. I will spread the word among my fellow students and make them aware about the small difference between plagiarism and referencing.

Moving into the future, I want to be more proactive with my work habits and diligent with how I start assignments. I no longer want to end up expending unnecessary stress when I have put off major work until the last-minute. I would like to not treat this issue lightly and brush it off. Malcolm Forbes once remarked that “failure is success if we learn from it.” This experience is deemed a success in my book because the consequences of my actions have caught up to me at the perfect time: had I been any younger, I would have unsophisticatedly acknowledged the incident as a trifle; had I been any older, I would have prematurely thought I dug myself into a hole six feet under.

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