99% in my Maths Exam (I cheated)

Hey there,

This has been eating away at me for 34 years.

I’m not quite ready to go public on LinkedIn but I feel we know each other a bit better my friend so I’m coming clean….

I’m so sorry Michael Ching, I robbed you of ‘top of the class’.

Mr Dawes, extraordinary Maths teacher at St. Faiths preparatory school, you were right to be astounded by my near perfection in the notoriously difficult common entrance Maths Paper 2.

It was my fault.

I was looking for a shortcut.

I felt so overwhelmed with pressure to revise for the myriad of mock exams and to maintain ‘top set’ status in a highly competitive school system.

I also knew how to obtain the paper that would be used for the mock beforehand (my parents both being teachers played a part).

So…I nailed that exam by seeing and practicing the paper beforehand.

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I was nothing but a fraud

The dopamine hit lasted all of 25 mins with the glory of my extraordinary achievement being read out to the whole class.

Then I felt hollow shame.

It wasn’t the worst crime in school history (the sadistic 6th former who handed out dead legs as punishment should own that one).

But I’d gained nothing and lost a lot.

I felt for Michael who deserved top of the class with his impressive 2nd place 92%.

I just felt shallow. I wasn’t living in alignment with my values.

I was only age 12.

But it was a key life moment for me.

This was where my integrity was born.

ICYMI

My best Linkedin post of the week:

• Mental Health impacts of non-compliance

There’s a guy on LinkedIn, in the Procurement space, who cheats at it.

He posts average content that gets unbelievable engagement from people completely unrelated to the field.

100’s, often 1000’s of likes that defy the algorithm, and just a couple of comments to boot.

He’s not 12 though.

He’s my age and in a senior professional role.

He’s cheating you and what is more he’s cheating himself.

Moreover, he’s telling us everything you need to know about his integrity.

Likes and comments are cheap hits.

It’s like sugar or porn.

Addictive substances that do you no good and will eat away at your physique (and your soul).

He’s part of a pod and has undoubtedly paid for engagement.

What is the point?

Really, what can he possibly gain from this?

Don’t be like him.

Don’t cheat at Maths.

Don’t cheat at life.

Tom (no longer age 12)

When you're ready, here are 2 ways I can help:​ 👇🏽