So you think you can what?

Our local newspaper is holding a writing contest, and while I didn't make it to being one of 5 finalist chosen out of almost 350 submissions, I decided I'd add my entry here, along with the really amazing letter I received back in response to my entry.  Sometimes, the benefits of taking a risk are still pretty amazing even when you don't get the results you'd hoped for.

Here's my entry (the submission requirements were to write 250-500 words on why you should be a finalist, any form or genre) ...

So You Think You Can What?

So You Think You Can What? Be one of the four finalists? It’s a ludicrous idea, for a 40 year old, government office worker, whose only published work is one lonely essay published two years ago in a local magazine. Why would I consider myself qualified? Why would I bother to put pen to paper?

Please, don’t put words in my mouth.  I don’t want to write because I’m stuck in a dead end job that I despise.  It may not be cool to say, but I love my job.  It’s not perfect … what job is? … but for me it’s the right balance of things I enjoy, and I value working on a government program that actually makes sense, no spin required.

This is about something else.  Picture the scene from a favourite movie.  Students are gathered around a trophy case, enrapt, but confused.  Then, they hear the whispered words of their teacher, “Carpe … Carpe Diem.”

“Seize the Day.”

This is about grabbing hold of a moment in time and choosing to make the most of it.  It’s about reaching for dreams long held.  It’s about living life with both hands open to experience whatever comes.  It’s about being awake and savouring each opportunity.  It’s about risking on a long shot because, really, what’s the worst that could happen?

But, it’s not only about me. Choosing to write these words and take the risk, that’s also about honouring the memory of Jim MacLaren, a real-life hero who passed away on August 31, 2010.

I won’t try to tell his story here - the word limit is far too few to do him justice - but he showed a courage, grace and perseverance in choosing life, lived to the fullest extent possible, that goes beyond what most people can begin to imagine.  His example is a major piece of what inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and submit that essay for publication.  Late one recent evening, I decided to send an email to Jim to say thank you and, hopefully, to be even the smallest amount of encouragement by expressing the degree to which he had inspired me.  The message he sent in return thanking me for reaching out made me grateful I’d done something out of character in sending an email to someone I’d never met.  Little did I know, my missive and his response would take place barely two weeks before his death.   

Sometimes, moments slip away without anyone noticing they’re gone until it’s too late to recover them.  Sometimes, we pay attention and those same moments become precious and potentially life-changing.

It may seem clichéd but life can, and does, pass us by if we’re not looking.  Today, this moment, I’m giving it my full attention, and it causes me to ask a few pertinent questions.

What better moment?  What better opportunity?

So You Think You Can Write?

Yes, I do.  Seize the day!

Here's the response letter I got (technically, I guess you'd call it a rejection letter, but somehow that doesn't feel right) ...

Although you are not among the finalists for our first ever So You Think You Can Write contest, you were one of a very few semi-finalists chosen from among 345 entries. We were overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of the entries, and our judges had a very difficult time narrowing the semi-finalists to just five finalists.

The judges were touched by the circumstances that led you to enter, and by your tribute to Jim MacLaren. I encourage you to continue to seize the day – and to write. Thank you again for taking part in SYTYCW, Edition 1.

I hope you will contemplate entering the contest again next year.

It's not the answer I'd hoped for, but, in some respects, I think it might be even better.  I know the next couple of weeks are going to be really busy at work and it would be hard to find the time to actually dedicate to the contest.  But this response, this makes me want to write, not just for a contest, but because writing is part of what makes me the person I am and the person I want to be.  In the long run, that's more important and more satisfying.

If you don't know Jim's story, you can hear it in his own words on his website or as it was shared during the eulogy at the celebration of his life.

"Seize the day, seize whatever you can
'Cause life slips away just like hourglass sand
Seize the day, pray for grace from God's hand
Then nothing will stand in your way
Seize the day"

Carolyn Arends