Ten years ago, I embezzled $40,000 from the small nonprofit where I worked. I was young, stupid, in debt from a gambling addiction. I got caught, served eight months, and lost everything. Since then, I've rebuilt my life completely. I'm sober, married, have two kids, and work in a completely different field. Nobody in my current life knows about my past. I've paid back every cent through anonymous donations to the nonprofit. Now I've been nominated for a community leadership award. The ceremony involves a background check. If I decline, people will wonder why. If I accept, my past might come out. If I come forward first, I control the narrative—but my kids would learn who I used to be. Do I owe people the truth about my past? Have I earned the right to a new identity? Or is hiding always a form of lying? — Reformed But Still Running in Richmond
Redemption and disclosure. Jean Valjean's transformation meets Sherlock Holmes' pursuit of truth.
Ten years ago, I embezzled $40,000 from the small nonprofit where I worked. I was young, stupid, in debt from a gambling addiction. I got caught, served eight months, and lost everything. Since then, I've rebuilt my life completely. I'm sober, married, have two kids, and work in a completely different field. Nobody in my current life knows about my past. I've paid back every cent through anonymous donations to the nonprofit. Now I've been nominated for a community leadership award. The ceremony involves a background check. If I decline, people will wonder why. If I accept, my past might come out. If I come forward first, I control the narrative—but my kids would learn who I used to be. Do I owe people the truth about my past? Have I earned the right to a new identity? Or is hiding always a form of lying? — Reformed But Still Running in Richmond
Jean Valjean
"The past does not define you—your choices today do"
49 votes
Sherlock Holmes
"When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains must be the truth"
50 votes
99 votes total
Full Positions
From Les Misérables
"The past does not define you—your choices today do"
One act of mercy changed my life forever. I too rebuilt myself from nothing, and I too faced moments where my past threatened my present. Redemption is possible, but it requires daily recommitment to being the person you want to become. You have earned your new life.
From The Hound of the Baskervilles
"When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains must be the truth"
It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. The facts are these: you committed a crime, you served your sentence, you made restitution. These are truths. But so is your transformation. The question is not whether to tell the truth, but which truth is most relevant now.