Congratulations to Justine!

Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is a nation-wide program that celebrates the creative, artistic, and writing skills of students grades 7-12. My Advanced Placement English teacher, Jill Pixton, was the one who introduced me to the Awards, though at first I brushed it off as something to do later.

However, in my attempt to find scholarships, I stumbled upon the Awards again, and decided what the heck, and started prowling my laptop for written works (as unfortunately, the deadline for writing was only a few days away, thus giving me no time to come up with inspiration). In order to register, I had to fill out a basic application, create an account, and, finally, submit my portfolio and my application fee.

I submitted four works, one a poem while the other three were short stories. These pieces had been written a short while ago, namely for the writing group that meets at the Marshall Public Library, Literally Talented Teens, run by Amy Campbell and Kath Ann Hendricks. I have been going to the group since I turned 13, and before that I attended Write On, another group at the MPL for kids, for a couple of years. The groups have helped me out in my writing, and I do believe my skills as a writer have gotten better because of them.

Those skills helped me to attain Honorable Mention for Idaho in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. It isn't like getting first place or anything, but if you take into account that an entire nation of kids is submitting to the Awards, it's a very nice prize to win! I'm very honored to receive the award, and I feel like my confidence was given a bit of a boost.

To be honest, though, I had totally forgotten about the Awards as I have a lot on my plate. Between applying for colleges and scholarships as well as juggling classes and now a part in my high school musical, I didn't have time to think about it that much. Sure, every now and then I would think, Hey, I might get emailed in a few weeks, but otherwise, I kept my thoughts far away from the Awards.

On a final note, I challenge those who are eligible, and who have a love of writing--be it essays, poems, short stories, or what have you--or a love of art--drawing, painting, or design-- to join the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. You might be surprised at how far your work could go.

Justine, Literally Talented Teen Member