Wait a Second!

When the phone rang and the voice on the other end identified herself as one of the judges who had interviewed me the day before, my heart skipped a beat - had I won??? And then I heard the dreaded words, "runner-up". My heart fell to my shoes but her words penetrated my 17 year old mind, "You were my first choice, but the three men on the panel went for Suzie." (Name changed.) I thought, "Of course they did. Suzie is cute and vivacious."

The woman's voice continued, "I felt so strongly that you were the best choice because your competitors forgot the competition to validate you during the interview." She then reminded me, "When you said you wanted to one day write and illustrate children's books they all got excited and said that you should do that! I have never seen that kind of peer support exhibited during a competition before."

She continued, "So I have conferred with the other regional judges and you will be the Reserve for the entire State of Texas. Should anyone be unable to go, you will attend in their place, so pack your bags and be ready to go."

Wow. The situation put me in one of the most awkward positions I have known. Should I pray for one of the regional winners to get sick or injured? I wasn't sure what to do but I surely do remember packing and hoping, and then with a heavy heart unpacking it all later.

What was all the fuss about? I had interviewed for a place in the Oddfellow's United Nations Pilgrimage for Youth. The adventure of a lifetime. It had begun with a written essay and a submission of a resume. I was then chosen, along with four other classmates to attend the deciding interview, ultimately losing to the bubbly and wide-eyed Suzie.

A very merry UN birthday

I share my birthday with the United Nations. Not terribly exciting, but it had put the UN in my thoughts every year. By the time I reached High School I decided I should learn Russian and maybe become a UN translator. It seemed a very exotic career choice at the time. I didn't get very far in my Russian language study as I worked through the one library book I could find, but I enjoyed reading Tolstoy and listening to Tchaikovsky and I even taught myself to play "Laura's Theme" from Dr Zhivago on the piano. That was about as Russian as I got.

I often wonder if my life would have been much different if I had boarded one of the buses bound for two weeks of behind the scenes exposure to the United Nations, New York City and Washington DC. I know I would have enjoyed the speaking tour after my return more than Suzie appeared to. Unlike almost everyone else I knew, I enjoyed public speaking and the idea of writing and delivering a speech to an interested audience was appealing. Perhaps Suzie quickly realised that there were few in our High School audience who were truly interested.

Part of the allure of the United Nations was the idea of so many cultures coming together in one place seeking common ground. I found the world a fascinating place with amazing diversity and while I had patriotic pride for my homeland, the wider world also held great appeal. Perhaps I had a bigger voyage to make. Maybe it was just a part of preparing me for living abroad. It certainly did not escape my thinking as I packed my bags for Australia and boarded the plane with my Aussie husband. This time I had not won a competition - it was for real. There were many behind the scenes things for me to learn and see, and I was with my first choice partner (and vice versa) for the adventure of our life together.

However, I am still to write and illustrate a children's book. It is on the Bucket List.

Layout created with digital paper from the kit "Steampunk" by Nicole Young.