Contests, contests, contests!
They are everywhere. I rarely enter because losing seems like an inevitability when so many are clamoring for a single prize or two. However, each year I try to enter one literary contest and each year when I do, there is a moment right after submitting that is a huge high. I fucking did it! I sent it out and my work could win!
It’s not impossible. I was a finalist in a Glimmer Train competition once. That’s pretty prestigious. That’s why I am telling you. It is my way of proving to you that the work that I do has some kind of worth. I was a finalist. Therefore, I do not suck. I should continue to enter contests. I could win. Need further proof? I refer you to my previously published page.
That said, I do not think that I will win. If I actually thought that I would win, then this would lead me to feel like a pretentious, arrogant, dick. So here’s to the thrill of not having lost yet!
Of course, the next thing we need to mention here is that even the best judges are still making a choice that is not perfect. It’s not math. You don’t just select the “right” one. So that is a part of it too. Whether I win or lose could be dependent on who makes the choice. Maybe another good judge would make a different decision. Maybe the same judge would make a different decision if asked again a year later, or after a big breakfast. Who knows?
But for right now, I have the high of not having lost yet. It is sort of like the high of realizing that one day you will be dead, but not today. Today, you made it!
And to you, the contest that shall remain nameless, I will name you if I win. And I will say to all the nay-sayers, I do not suck.
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