Sample Essay - Good

Of all the civic values that unite us as Americans, courage and integrity are the most essential. America would never have been founded had it not been for the people who had the courage and integrity to stand up for what they believed, even at great personal risk. In my own life, I have put these values value into practice as a student and as a volunteer in the hospital.

The Declaration of Independence demonstrates the kind of integrity upon which the United States was founded. The closing lines highlight the Founders’ integrity: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” The Founders knew that the Declaration would mean nothing if they were not willing to stand behind it by courageously risking their lives and livelihoods. As soldiers, businessmen, husbands, fathers and citizens, they fought for their liberty.

The choices and actions of George Mason exemplify a life of courage integrity. As author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, he had the courage to issue the document even before the Declaration of Independence was completed. He had doubts about the new Constitution in 1787 and refused to sign it. This decision shows how much integrity he had.

As a student, I face choices every day that test my integrity. In one instance, I got to school and forgot we were going to have a geometry test that day. I had been out sick one day the past week, and so my teacher gave me the chance to take the test later in the week. But I knew my absence had nothing to do with why I wasn’t prepared. The truth was, I had forgotten about the test. I knew that accepting the later test date would be unfair to everyone else who still had to take the test that day, and would have been compromising my integrity. I took the test with everyone else. I did well on it too, as it turned out.

I volunteer at the hospital in my community as a “cuddler.” My job is to hold babies and play with kids who are in the pediatric wing. When I took the job I don’t think I realized that many of these children would be sick. During my first week I got to the nursery and found out that there was a baby in there who had a birth defect called cleft palate. I was so scared to go in. I was even more scared to hold him. I knew how scared his parents must be too, and I was worried that I might make them feel worse. But I realized that by fulfilling my responsibilities, I was making a difference in their lives. By holding the baby I was making him happy, and giving his parents some extra time to rest.