Lunch Time Honesty Minute: Being Overlooked

Growing up I was in alot of competitions. Yes I did the school competitions but I'm talking about citywide, statewide, and National competitions.

I was looked at as a leader for whatever age group I was in at the time and I competed against people my age and much older than me. I would often win it was just that when I got to the final competitions I was met with a challenge.


In majority of these competitions I had to do a lot of interviews and say many speeches and each time I excelled. It was one competition that I went to the top in four years straight and I was met with the same problem every time.

I knew as well as every one else knew that I'd deserved the title I was competing for except the judges.

Look ...

Every person I competed against would hold out secret weapons until the final speeches. Thats when they let the sob stories began. I mean you could hear anything from how they are suffering from not having a father figure to them being dyslexic. I mean ANYTHING. Now I'm not saying that these things aren't true however they knew as well as their coaches knew that this was what would help them win the competition.

Now, yes I called them sob stories because every time this happened they started to cry crocodile tears. While me and my whole family sat at the table and literally admitted that I wouldn't be winning this year.

The last year I did this competition I decided it would be my last. I actually felt that it was pointless for me to go through all the hooplah involved!

Why did I feel it was pointless?

Well put it like this. I grew up in a two parent home, good grades, no learning disabilities, I wasn't in any near death experiences, I could read, I wasn't a reformed bad ass ... none of that. I was a normal kid for my age with goals just like the others. There were times where some of my coaches felt that I should lie and say I had a problem to get me ahead in the competition. I wouldn't have that.

That final competition day came and I was luckily the last to go up. I was last after everyone had cried and given some of their deepest secrets or their supposed biggest "challenges". This year it was clear that everybody was full of shit and even they knew it.

I got on stage and spoke about how it is wrong to look over someone for doing well without having been through a bunch of obstacles. I pointed out how most of the problems these people claimed was because of their own actions and bad decisions. I didn't shed a tear and I ended very nicely with a fuck you. Not those words exactly. But trust me EVERYONE got the hint.

I didn't expect to win and I didn't. I hoped I didn't because I'd expressed how the competition was clearly bullshit.

The moral is that:

When you know your being looked over stand up and say something because as long as you allow bullshit to fly it will. Don't be a bird.