This world is filled with endless misconceptions. Misconceptions that twist and weave their way into our daily lives. And one of the biggest misconception I've heard is, “Every good deed doesn't go without a reward.” And that's just wrong.

Can you imagine a world where every time someone held open a door for someone else, every time a person restrains themselves from cheating, every time a person decided not to gossip, that they got a reward? That's not how life works, and people need to stop believing in this fantasy of prizes for being a good person. Doing the right thing shows you that you are a human being with a concept of right and wrong, but it doesn't give you an award or a congratulations for doing it. And I learned that.

From day one in school we are taught that good deeds get rewards. If I studied for my test instead of watching my favorite show, I was rewarded by my parents with small snacks and a good grade from my teacher. If I participated in a competition I went home with a participation trophy. And if I was nice to others I would get that star prize at the end of the day. That's how it worked. Yet, that's not how life works. And I progressed on and on in school I started seeing people cheating or sabotaging others to get a head start or be ahead of the game. And it was okay. They still became the top one percent at school, and they still got the scholarships they applied for. And I started thinking, “what do I get for doing the right thing?” And I didn't find the answer until three weeks later, when I got into a scholarship that I had worked so hard to apply for. That moment of pure joy and excitement that rushed into me and made me squeal like I was five years old again when I got that cookie for studying; that was what made me realize. You don't always get a reward for doing the right thing, and yes, sometimes the “bad” guy will win, and sometimes life won't be fair. But the times you do get rewarded, the times that doing the right thing works in your favor, those are worth all the times life isn't fair.