The Contest

My name is Mia. I’m going to tell you about the day that changed my life forever. It was a normal school day. I was waving goodbye to my mom when I saw a bright neon orange sign on the school door. The sign said,

”Do you love to write? If so, enter our teenage writing contest. For more information and details, please visit our website www.teenagewritingcontest.org.”

I screamed silently in my head. I love to write. Asking me that is like asking a dog if it likes peanut butter. I walked into school that day, and for the first time, could not wait until it ended. As soon as school was over, I ran outside. Thankfully, my mom was on time that day. When I got home, I ran up into my room and went on the website. It said they were taking entries for two weeks as of tomorrow. Also, there was a 500 dollar cash prize for the winner. I got working on my story right away. I revised and edited it over and over again. Once I was completely happy with my piece, I entered it. The website said they will post the winners on April 1st. The rest of the month flew by, I almost forgot about the contest. 

Then, on April 1st, I saw that I had a new email. Thinking it was from a relative, I opened it. I had to read it five times for the news to sink in. I won! Out of hundreds of stories, they chose mine! I showed my parents the good news. They were as excited as I was. So, with that newfound courage, I started to write and send stories to newspapers. Now, thirty years later, I am a published author and have 3 best sellers. I can't help but wonder where I would be if I didn't enter and win that contest. I was proud to be a successful deaf writer.