My favorite place in college library is the line leading up to the cash register in the little cafe on the first floor. I get giddy just thinking about picking out my snacks. Generally it’s where I take a little break, grab some gummy worms or something else that I will later regret eating. But I do it anyway, time and time again. I always rely on those gummy worms to lift me up during endless hours of studying.
Reliability is a funny thing. It’s the trust that one can depend on something or someone, often without reason other than the faith in basic decency. However, all too often people or things possess our trust without earning it.
Why do I trust gummy worms to lift me up? It’s temporary, right? Because when the box is empty, I am left with nothing but spare sugar crystals and probably a little bit of nausea (mostly because I buy the box, lose all self control and eat them all in around five minutes). What is six hours in the library without some slightly toxic food? Despite the effects, I rely on them so often to pull me out of my studying slumps.
I am stuck on these stupid gummy worms because they were the only thing keeping me sane when I spent an hour, on two separate occasions, waiting for my new math tutor to meet me at College Library. I had an exam last week, and I had recently hired this tutor to get some extra help. I relied on him to review my math with me, or at the very least, show up. Unfortunately, he never did.
So what did I do for the hours that I waited in the library? After many failed attempts to understand my math on my own, I got to thinking about accountability. After all, I like to write more than I like to do calculus, so writing is exactly what I did. And through my jumbles of typed out thoughts, I arrived at more questions than I did conclusions.
Why do we count on people when they haven’t earned our trust? Why do people back out of commitments? Why is it so much to ask of a person to honor their obligations? I really do not believe that this should not be too much to ask of a person.
How about a more relatable example; I have a friend who signed an apartment lease for next year and just this month found out that one of her roommates has backed out. Now she has to search for a new roommate or be forced to pay hundreds of dollars more per month for her lease. Her friend’s decision to back out of the lease left the other roommates high and dry.
While there are exceptions to everything, there are always multiple ways to handle situations. If my math tutor could not make our meeting, he could have shot me a simple email informing me of his dilemma. If someone needs to back out of a lease, they can express their concerns sooner rather than making the decision without the other roommates involved.
Look, if you commit to something, stick to it. If we cannot depend on each other, who can we depend on? Accountability is a part of fundamental human decency. It hurts to have your trust denounced. Your actions substantially affect those around you—more than you may think. Don’t back out of commitments, don’t take the easy way out. Integrity is an underrated, yet imperative characteristic. As college students, we all often feel indestructible. This unfortunately leads from good intentions to bad situations. We all need to take the time to learn to be honest with ourselves—only commit to what you know you are capable of, and have the integrity to follow through.
Marisa is a freshman writer for The Daily Cardinal. We would like to hear from you. Send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
