Muhammad Ali once said, "Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer." I experienced the lessons of his wise words personally in my first year at Whitney, with an incident had changed me tremendously. The episode had taught me a lesson, but at the same time, left me embarrassed and ashamed; and even today, memories of what had happened are still clear in my head.

The event occurred three years ago when I first entered the school. Stepping into the new environment as a 7th grader, I was both exciting and nervous. The year began with the electing of class cabinet members and that was when my immaturity was portrayed. I clearly remembered that five candidates ran for the president position and the competition was intense. Everyone was working tirelessly and competing passionately hoping to earn those precious votes. One morning before classes began, I...