31 Day Challenge- Day 7 Published Poet

     It started when I was in 7th grade. I was in a Pre-AP English class, and my teacher Mrs. Bryant had given us a little strip of paper and told us to go to the website listed on it and submit a poem that we had written. The website was a place that anybody in any grade up to 12th grade could go and submit their original poems or essays. Once you submit your poem or essay it goes on to be judged by the founders of the website, if your poem is chosen, you get a letter in the mail saying that your poem was chosen to be published. You would have to fill out the form and give them permission to print your poem in their anthology book, and then mail it back to them.
     Before I got that piece of paper from my teacher, I had never written a poem that was meant to be read by anyone or even published. I never thought that I would be a published author, but a few weeks went by after I submitted my poem, and I got the letter. I was going to be a published poet. Who knew? I was really excited and thrilled that my poem was chosen to be published in a book. Even though the anthologies are not sold in stores, they can be purchased online, and seen at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. The poem that I submitted was a poem that I had written for a book project about racism and segregation, needless for me to say that I never thought that it would have been published. I just did was I was asked to do, and low and behold my poem was published.
     Ever since then, I have been writing poems when I'm in a bad mood, or just not having the perfect day. I seem to write a lot better when I am not in my best mood. When I try to write when I'm in a good mood, or my day was a good day, I get writer's block. I don't know why, but it just comes naturally to me when I am mad. I guess you could say that is one way that I vent my anger, feelings, or opinions. I have a folder full of just roughdraft poems on notebook paper that I have written when I was angry or had something to vent about.
     Since my first poem has been published, I have had the honor to be published three more times. So in all, I have 4 published poems, all from the same website. Every now and then I go to the website to check and see if there are any contests going on, and if there are, I get into my folder full of poems and I submit one. Every time that I have gotten the letter that tells me my poem is going to be published, I get the adrenaline rush of knowing that it's going to happen again, but nothing is going to feel like the first time I got that letter. If you have any unpublished poems or essays sitting around, I encourage you to visit the website listed below and submit it. You may get published, you may not. It is something called taking a chance. If you don't get published, write another one and try again. If you want to be a published author, don't give up on that dream.

Submit your poem/essay here!