Flight of a Dodo

The absolute joys of language class. The sentence structure, diagramming, reading out loud, spelling—my ultimate nemesis. Language and math were two of my greatest struggles. And on this day, I was cruelly subjected to a test in Language Arts (poetry memorization).

I stared at the blank sheet of paper on my desk as the teacher paced the aisles. I had nothing to write. The feeling hit instantly—straight back to junior high. The dodo had returned.

What now? How do I even cheat? I’m going to get caught! My nerves were racing as the time ticked away. I glanced at my friends for help… and that’s when I finally noticed. They were cheating with experience.

I had never seen them cheat before—probably because I was always too busy taking the test. But there they were, cheating in style. A+ for sure (or so I thought at the time). I studied them for a brief moment and then pulled out the only trick up my sleeve… my own little cheat sheet.

I nervously wrote the poem. It was a long one—eight to ten lines. Word by word I forged my path toward excellence. I had hot flashes. Was I sweating? I was sweating. The teacher was going to notice. Every student for himself!

As the test was coming to an end, I scribbled down the final words and shoved the cheat sheet back up my sleeve. I sighed with heavy relief as we turned in our work and exited the class.

My friends and I reeled over our success. As we laughed our way toward victory, I noticed something… the rush. It was fun—even addicting. I had to cheat again.

My hard‑earned C’s became B’s and easy A’s. I could choose the grade. It felt like stealing success right off the teacher’s desk—academic shoplifting. Yet there was honor among thieves. There were two rules we swore never to break, and those who did were not forgiven.

“For I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”

Psalm 73:3