"Your integrity is your greatest asset" is frequently quoted saying in my house. I never really understood the significance of this quote until recently when I realized that the only thing that could tame ambition in a healthy way was integrity. My mother says that the one character trait that she wants her children to embody is integrity. She says that integrity is exactly what makes a great leader, employee, classmate, teammate, and friend. My mother defines integrity as doing the right thing when nobody is watching. But I define integrity as simply doing the right thing. Whether the whole world is watching or you're all alone, whether there is nothing to gain or everything to lose, I find that integrity is always doing the right thing. Integrity was never a particular struggle of mine. I was the kind of kid who willingly told on myself for eating an extra cookie because I felt guilty. I was the kind of kid who never cheated on tests at school and never opened my eyes during Heads Up, Seven Up. But that was before I realized how passionate that I was about the legal and justice system, and my passion truly tested my integrity. While at a recent mock trial camp, I was placed with several other teammates on the prosecution side of a drunk-driving fatality case. While I was a very talented mock attorney, I did feel very uncomfortable at times being in such a competitive environment. One day, a guest speaker who was an insurance litigator spoke to us. This attorney reminded me of myself with her gentle nature yet obvious desire to be successful for her clients. I asked her how she got to be such a highly respected attorney without having to step on other people to achieve that success. Her answer was short: integrity always wins in the end. I've questioned my desire to go into the legal field ever since becoming familiar with the environment that I would likely be entering in law school. I truly didn't think that I would be able to settle for less than the best for the clients that I would represent but also didn't think that I would be able to morally digest crushing others for my own success. Now, I know that I don't have to choose. "Integrity is your biggest asset." Doing the right thing is something that no career can rob me of. The one thing that I thought would hinder my success as a hopeful future lawyer is something that I now see as a strength.