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Yuliem Dominguez

Doctor Saxby

English 105-3

September 11, 2010

What Integrity Means To Me

Often time we find ourselves surrounded by people who tell us that they have morals and

values by which they firmly stand and they actually practice. Other times, people who say one

thing but they do the complete opposite. To be a person of integrity simply means to be a person

who is not hypocritical. When I think of this word I clearly picture my grandmother who has, for

years, been my second mother and role model. Throughout all of her struggles she has stayed

true to her beliefs. In one particular incident, she exercised her strong belief against theft. In

contrast, the perfect example of a hypocrite is my aunt who has the tendency to lie. I will never

forget the time when I regretfully confided to her about my first boyfriend and she swore not to

tell my mother, she lied, as all hypocrites.

I clearly remember the day we went to the supermarket and witnessed a simple theft with

my grandmother who did not stand by and turn the blind eye, she is the perfect example of good

integrity; her belief for not stealing truly lived up to her morals that day. It was a regular

Saturday afternoon in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico; my grandmother had decided to take me

to the grocery store with her that day to get some of the vegetables she needed for dinner. When

we reached the grocery store, I noticed a woman who kept looking around as if she was looking

out for someone. I silently pointed her out to my grandma and asked why the woman might be

acting like that in a grocery store. My grandma glanced over and told me it was rude to point at

people; however, that did not stop her from carefully watching the woman across from us who
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had managed to move by the vegetable stands. We had only watched the woman for less than

five minutes when I noticed her hands reaching for the tomatoes and carefully tucking them

under her coat. My grandmother angrily approached the woman and started yelling hysterically

at the woman about not stealing. The woman began yelling back stating that she had no job and

no way of feeding her children. My grandmother then proceeded to ask the security officer to

take her into custody and informed the woman that there are programs she could enroll in for

free food, founded by the government, and that there was no reason for the woman to steal.

Although my grandmother’s integrity was very moving, so was that of my aunt’s

hypocritical oath for keeping secrets; her lack of integrity was a lesson to be learned. I was only

thirteen years old or so when I got my first kiss from my first boyfriend. I was having trouble

telling him that after two months of being together I did not want to continue seeing him.

Although I should have gone to my own mother for advice, I went to my aunt. She had always

told me that whenever I needed someone to talk to, that she would always be available and that

our conversations would be kept confidential. When I finally opened up about my situation my

aunt promised not to say a word to my mother. Not a week had passed when my mother called

me into the living room to have a talk with me. She stated that my aunt had informed her of a

boy I was seeing and that according to her I had told her I was contemplating having sexual

relations. I was very angry and clarified the situation to my mother and apologized for not telling

her about my first boyfriend. I confronted my aunt about the situation the following week along

side with my mother. My aunt stated that she only exaggerated to my mother to grab her

attention and that she felt our conversation was not something to be kept from my mother.

Needless to say, I was very disappointed and vowed never to tell her anything again.
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My grandmother’s integrity is the perfect example of a good integrity, while my aunt’s is

a very bad example. To be a person with integrity means to be a person of honesty, someone who

will always stand by their beliefs and morals in any situation. Although we would like for

everyone to have good integrity, seeing people who lack integrity, set an example so that we can

differentiate between the two. Both my grandmother and my aunt have taught me important

lessons which I will carry on with me for the rest of my life.