Personal Narrative: Developing Virtue Secondary School

When I was fourteen I made the jump from public school in Kuala Lumpur to attend a Buddhist boarding school in a monastic community. It's located in rural northern California, and called Developing Virtue Secondary School [DVS]. This decision was part of a promise to challenge myself academically, build my character, adhere to strict ethical and behavioral guidelines, develop myself religiously, and find service in the community. However, I failed to follow my own guidelines during Thanksgiving break last year.
Coming to DVS, I knew about the school limited Internet access and that no electronic devices were allowed. Social networks, such as Facebook, WeChat, Twitter, Google Plus, Youtube, and Pinterest, were banned in the school. It was difficult, but
However, coming from a moderate income family in Malaysia, I could not afford to fly home for this “one-week break.” Regardless of the break, DVS was in a monastery, home of monks and nuns, and the rules against using social media, electronic devices, and limiting internet access still applied.
Hearing news that my friends were enjoying their Thanksgiving, visiting friends, and playing the latest version of games that I had grown up with, made me jealous. I found myself thinking that I deserved a break like all of the other students who went home, I deserved the right to play games. All I had to do was download an update to a flash drive I had, and I would have a relaxing and harmless computer game that I could play right after I went back to Malaysia.” But how to access the protected computers? How to by-pass the password protections? “Oh, that is easy,” I thought to myself, “and harmless. Just a quick jaunt on a teacher’s computer. After all, she is enjoying her time off at home. I am quick at guessing passwords and by-passing firewalls anyway. I just had to make it