I won the Principal's award in middle school

I can totally brag about this because it's the only thing that this coveted prize ever afforded me. Oh, and a piece of paper that is sitting in a box somewhere in my mother's basement.

Yet I recognize this award for what it is: a consolation prize. I did a lot of extracurricular activities in both middle and high school, but I never excelled in any of them. I think the principal was trying to tell me that he felt sorry for me. I deserved to get SOMETHING for my "never give up" attitude, right?

I participated in show choir and drama club - always in the background, a no-name character with a few lines. I did forensics - and never won anything. Cheerleading (to the everlasting ridicule of my brothers) - but I quit after one semester because I soooooo did not fit the profile. I did yearbook, NHS, tutoring, SADD, art, peer mediation and I don't know what else. Mostly because I didn't have much of a social life.

So I was thinking about my revered Principal's Award today and a repressed memory resurfaced: I ran for class secretary, too.

I truly do not what I was thinking. I was the quintessential nerd in middle school. Side ponytail. Coke bottle glasses. Braces with bands that coordinated with the upcoming holiday. I still played with My Little Ponies til freshman year of high school. Yup.

But encouraged by my loving mother (who is forbidden to comment on this post), I made dozens of posters with my name and slogan. The dreaded Voting Day arrived. I was required to give some kind of speech, and I swear before the Blogging Gods that Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite gave the same speech I did when I was thirteen years old. (But I didn't have dancing moon boots to back me up.)

I lost. I lost to a girl named Jenny Butts who I met the day of the vote. And you know what? I LIKED her. A really really lot. She was pretty and engaging and cool. And kind enough to make friends with me, her "rival" (though there was really no competition.)

I actually ended up voting for her.

This memory recently surfaced because I suddenly find myself in the same situation.

The other day I got an email from a truly awesome blogger at Real Mom, Real Life. (Check her out if you haven't already!) She informed me that she had nominated me for the Mormon Mommy Blogs' March Spotlight. (That really was a lot of capital letters, bytheway.)

Well! Of course I immediately felt extremely fond of the whole world and hopped on over to the MMBMS post. I had a grand total of THREE votes - enough for the lead! WHOO-HOO!

I skipped around the house most of this morning. It really is a beautiful day, isn't it?

But this afternoon, when I started to think about thinking about dinner, I checked again - cuz I'm cumpulsive like that. And I'm losing. To a blog called The Chocolate Chip Waffle. Of course I had to check out my competition, so I hopped on over.

And dang. She's good. Like, I-would-be-ashamed-to-show-my-bloggy-face-if-I-actually-beat-her-out good.

So yeah, vote for me, vote for her, whatever. I won the Principal's award in middle school, so I'm good either way.