Since it is officially September, and most of the kiddos are off to school, I have been thinking a lot about my experience growing up and attending school. After reminiscing about the "good ol' days," a memory came flooding back:

When I was in kindergarten I took a Disney princess pencil from a classmate named Caroline. Originally, when I reached across the table it was simply because I did not have a pencil and I desperately needed one to continue to draw the elephant on my coloring page. For the rest of coloring time, I used this princess pencil and no one noticed, so I figured I’d take it with me to my desk.

When we sat down at our desks and our teacher instructed us to take out a piece of paper and a pencil, the wailing began. The sound coming from the back corner of the room had to be the worst thing I had ever heard! The noise was something between a scream of sheer horror and a sob of deepest sorrow. Our teacher, terribly confused, ran right over to the student’s desk and attempted to sooth her. When she explained that her Disney princess pencil had been “kidnapped,” our teacher instantly became furious. Since it was obvious that our teacher was incredibly angry I made a split decision to hide the pencil in a folder, on the bottom of a pile of school supplies, deep down in the black abyss of my messy desk. I concluded that no one was to know that it was me who stole that pencil.

In a booming voice, the teacher asked the class who had taken the pencil, and, when no one owned up to it went to her desk to get another princess pencil for Caroline to use since it seemed that hers “got up and walked away.” The lesson for that day continued, and I thought to myself if I had known the pencil belonged to Caroline the Crier I wouldn’t have even dared to touch the thing! Until today, no one knew that it was me, Rebekah Varin, who stole that Disney princess pencil (Sorry, Caroline).

Although I had probably done a million things wrong prior to this moment (like biting my sister...which I don't remember, by the way), this was the first time I realized I was capable of choosing between doing the right thing and doing the wrong thing. Incredible. The guilt of this scenario tore at me for weeks. Apparently, however, not enough for me to have ever told anyone that it was me who stole the pencil.

There have been so many people giving tips about surviving the school year, or other serious topics. So I decided I should follow suit. So, kids: Always tell the truth. To all the young students heading back to school this month, do the right thing. Bring your own Disney princess pencils to school.