Like a pencil, rules can be broken easily. When rules are written, it seems so simple to know the difference between right and wrong, but maybe the rules are not really that simple after all. Knowing what the rules are could quite possibly be a motive to break them as an act of rebellion; however, soon the line between right and wrong becomes blurry, and all of the sudden things begin to snap, then crack and inevitably break.

The Snap

It starts with the snap: the eerie noise that starts a scary chain of events. Bending one little rule can’t be that bad, can it? It seems like many people break rules, so it must be okay to try. Memorizing the answers, stealing a glance at someone else’s test, or even something as simple as looking up the answers to certain assignments online doesn’t seem wrong since a lot of students do it and don’t get caught. In reality, that’s not true at all.

Health and physical education teacher Robert Hafer teaches students every day about the pressures of being a teenager and continues to share knowledge about what leads to the actions that teens choose to take.

“I think there is some peer pressure influence to boost self esteem to fit into a certain crowd,” Hafer said.

It is almost easier to do what everyone else is doing instead of trying to follow the rules all the time. Many students believe that others who never bend the rules are “goody goodies” or  “teacher’s pets.” This may be another reason why kids find it easy to break some rules: to seem cool to their peers.

Snap. Snap. Snap.

That noise is a constant reminder that bending the rules is just as wrong as breaking them, and it could quite possibly lead to even worse consequences in the end.

The Crack

This follows shortly after the snap. The small fracture in the pencil that seems like nothing and it is just looked right over. Bending the rules becomes so normal, that whatever was being done before cannot even be remembered.

“I think [bending the rules] happens quite a bit, more so than I realized or anyone else realizes,” Hafer said.

It often becomes a habit after a while, something that becomes hard to control; not many try to control their urge to find loopholes and essentially, cheat or break the rules . However, that fracture is still there lingering in the background, waiting to grow bigger and bigger until the original pencil is not even recognizable anymore. It doesn’t take a genius to know something is wrong, but no one wants to try and fix the pencil that still works without issues. No one wants to admit that maybe what they are doing can actually cause more problems than solutions.

The Break

This is where it all starts to spiral out of control. The pencil is now broken in half and there is no way that it can be put back together again and resemble what it was before. The damage has been done, and now, it is time to accept the consequences. Just like a pencil, after a while of bending the rules they will eventually break and there is no going back. Sometimes, students are not aware of the repercussions that they will face if they are caught breaking the rules that have been created.

Sophomore Kacey Meltzer has witnessed, time and time again, students getting in trouble for pushing the rules too far until they had finally reached the limit.

“They know it’s against the rules, so it almost gives you the sense of rebellion, but you could get a detention or you could get expelled,” Meltzer said.

Two broken pieces of a pencil can no longer be the same, just like a major mistake cannot be taken back after the fact.

The Aftermath

There will always be consequences to any actions, whether they are good or bad. Bending the rules is an action like no other: it is a choice that seems like it may have no consequences, since it is rare that one gets caught doing such a thing. It is the grey area that comes with any black and white situation. It is the smudge of the pencil lead on the paper before the first decision is made to start this path of destruction in the first place. It may seem so simple to break, but like a pencil, once it is broken it will never be the same again.