Competitive Streak

When I was a child, my mother (She who definitely must be obeyed at all costs) worked her fingers to the bone to send me to dancing lessons. Tap and acrobatics first then Ballet, Natural Movement (touch of the Isadora Duncan’s), National, Character etc. She entered me into dancing school exams, and for all of those I can boast to good results. Dancing festivals were several times per year. I progressed from Primary to Elementary. Then I was a teenager and I paid for myself to have lessons in Jive and then Ballroom dancing and Latin, up but not but not quite to teacher level. 

Many years later I went to a folk dance club on Friday evenings, where I arrived feeling pretty cream crackered after a week of work and came home after a very energetic evening of dancing feeling completely refreshed.

Later in life came learning to do Front Crawl (I was a breast stroke/backstroke person) I did a few road runs with my husband and we both drifted very quickly into triathlon. If you can swim a bit and you can ride a bike 25 miles and you can run 10km then pretty soon you do an event or two or a hundred or several hundreds.

Where I am going today with all this is that having three years ago this Thursday, started writing poetry as a mental exercise whilst I recovered from an accident, I am still competitive. I have entered some poetry competitions because I think that if you have a passion, you should take it to your limits and push. 

Today I entered five of my most recent works into a poetry compo for the cost of a few coffees. That is in addition to the two previous compos that I entered earlier this year. Pretty much like triathlon I do not expect to end anywhere except somewhere near the back of the field. But, you have to show you mean business in whatever you turn to. 

Believe in yourself.