I remember this short story from a student who won 3rd place in an inter-school contest. I forgot what the competition is but she was very happy even if she didn't get the chance to be on the first spot.
When she came home, she immediately told the good news to her mom. After that, she went into her room and lay herself to bed for a couple of minutes. Half asleep, she heard a murmuring downstairs. It is her grandmother talking to her mom, the conversation is kinda loud but this line broke her heart the most
" Only 3rd place??? weak "
These words have brought her into tears. The said competition has a total of 40 participants based on her story and she made it through the 3rd spot.
Most of the time, people will only be there on your winning moments and sometimes, they are the same people who doesn't believe in you when you are still trying to figure out things. As a child who grew up being recognized with the things I did, it is very important for parents to value your child's winning moments. It will help them motivate more with the things that they love to do.
The people around you will always play a big role in how you see things in life and how you make major decisions.
Success doesn't mean you should always be on first spot. Success means you've tried and you are a thousand times better than those who's still doubting themselves. You'll never know what's gonna happen unless you try.
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It is already a success if you decide to take part and join, go for it. If it comes to writing, art it all depends on the jury, what they like, how they judge who wins. It doesn't need to mean #40 was bad (who knows how good those 40 were) or #1 was the best writer. If you ask me #3 is great and granny sounds like a nasty, mean person to me, filled with envy and mother? She should have defend her child even if she was #40! I can imagine how remarks like these hurt but if you do not let go of it your life will be very hard, unnecessary hard. Believe in what you like most, your own skills.