Entering the Helen Lansdowne Resor – By @katiebcreates
By Katie Burrell
Entering the Helen Lansdowne Resor
Scholarship Competition
‘In 500 words or less, please tell us how the HLR scholarship will
help in your pursuit of a creative position in advertising.’
Ok, I thought. Let’s attempt to do this a little differently and maybe
it’ll work. I decided to write my 500 words or less in poetry form. Ha!
The last time I wrote a poem was in my Year 8 English class. I
guess there’s no harm in having a go…so…
I began to write.
This just might work.
The words came easily,
No distractions,
Head down,
The ink was flowing free.
But my husband kept spying on me
Trying to sneak a peek of what I had so far,
This is bizarre
It’s Helen Lansdowne Resor!
The pressure.
Wondering how I’ll measure up,
I know it’ll be tough
With all the amazing talent out there.
I have to dare to share something really different.
I’ve got the time,
I’ll make this rhyme
And then, it’s finished.
I cave and let my other half read it.
He digests it, dissects it and says “It’s mostly very good.”
That’s a compliment coming from him.
If you want to read the first poem I’ve written
Since being a thirteen year old student see below
I know
I have a long way to go,
But it’s a start.
‘In 500 words or less, please tell us how the HLR scholarship will
help in your pursuit of a creative position in advertising.’
Back to school in September.
The thrill of choosing a shiny new pencil case
I remember
The anticipation,
That buzzing ball of energy sparking inside
When at other times, shrouded with nerves, I’d want to cower and
hide.
Back to school in September.
Back to school and I’m thirty-one.
Back to school and if I knew I’d won
It would make me feel like a child again,
Like I can make anything happen, how I felt back then.
The world at my feet, a weight off my mind,
That feeling you have when you’re five and you strive
For what you want.
Adulthood can dampen that spark.
Responsibility, a sense of fragility, the need for stability
Taking over.
Money worries grinding you down and stressing you out.
Winning this scholarship would make my heart sing
With a feeling of liberation,
A celebration,
As I realise my creative dreams in advertising.
Freedom from being a grown-up,
To learn and to be,
To exercise my mind,
To see what I can achieve so I can believe in me again.
Like I did way back when.