This is your blog writer speaking, Jacob Long, in my second year as a writing tutor and second year as a blog writer. We have a new blog writer on board with us this year, Lauryn Everly, who has ample experience as both a writer and a blogger. In the past, she blogged the progress of her pumpkin patch back in 2018, a particularly good year for the harvest. She was aiming to grow the largest pumpkin in the tri-state area for the Tri-State Tractor and Trade Festival. She spent months caring for her puny pumpkins, only to see them stay at typical pumpkin size, about the mass of a full fishbowl. So, one day, she made the decision to add plant food to her fertilizer, an illegal move in the contest, and from that moment on her pumpkins grew to the size of boulders. Sadly, an investigation was launched into her pumpkin procedures, as their size far exceeded natural limits, and she was disqualified from the contest. Her embarrassment was palpable, but she has since learned that cheating, especially in an academic context, is unacceptable and now lives a life dedicated to teaching others the same thing.
This story is totally fictitious, Lauryn never grew pumpkins, no less participated in the fictional Tri-State Tractor and Trade Festival, but the moral of the story is important: cheaters never prosper. So let’s make a commitment to each other to practice absolute academic integrity this year, and if we can succeed in that venture you’ll hear the story of my own run in with the Tri-State Tractor and Trade Festival law.