Exam 2 continued

It was after these thoughts that I began to feel sorry for whoever felt the need to steal the exam. I realized what a bold act of desperation it must be, especially among a student body of Christians with a strict code of honor. Who would do such a thing? I felt insulted on behalf of BYU that someone could so shamelessly taint the school's integrity.

Well the exam went fine. It only took three hours. But the entire time I still felt ashamed that someone had not only come up with such a cheating scandal but also resorted to theft in order to pull it off. I tried to think of some way to get it off my mind. Only as I opened the smaller pouch of my backpack to put away my calculator did I see my stashed Halloween candy and remember Shayne's suggestion from last week: "Go out this weekend and buy somebody a coke."

The principle is simple: buy a little something for someone you've never met - a complete stranger. Pay for someone's dinner, buy someone a drink, or do anything as a random gift to a random person. There should be no incentive, except maybe to make people happy and make the world a better place, and save the whales and stop global warming. It's these types of selfless acts that BYU students should be known for. It's the exact thing I needed to do to get the lingering dissapointment off my mind. I never thought the day would come when I'd be excited to give away my own candy. I pulled out all I had left: four fun-size packets of M&M's (1 peanut, 2 regular, and 1 mini).

We all know how great it feels to be handed free things, but I think I'd forgotten that it can feel even better to be the one giving. I never knew I'd learn so many great life lessons from such a dreaded accounting class. I'm sure the four students behind me were surprised when M&M packets landed on their bubble sheets as I walked down the row. I hope it made their day a little better, but I didn't stop or look back to see their reactions. I didn't feel the need.

I was filled with satisfaction as I turned in my test. I studied long and hard for it, put in an honest effort, and felt great about my result. After giving candy to those deserving strangers, I felt even better and realized that the vast majority of BYU students would "buy a coke" for anyone on campus before dreaming of selfishly staining the school's integrity.

So that was Accounting Exam #2.