As the votes were being counted, I became more nervous with every passing second. It felt like an eternity waiting for them to count the votes. I wanted to win more than anything. First place was the only thing on my mind. I began pacing, waiting for them to announce the winner. I looked around at the other pieces and thought to myself,was my piece good enough, could I even get in the top three?
Finally I heard what I had been waiting for all night,
“The votes are in, the moment we have all been waiting for!” the host said.
Everyone was standing around anxiously waiting for them to announce the winners. They first called off the special awards, which were the awards the judges gave. They consisted of best drawing, painting, photograph, and best 3D/sculpture. My piece fit under the 3D/Sculpture category. They first announced best drawing, then painting, then photograph, and finally they were at my category, 3D/Sculpture. I took a deep breath and waited for them to announce the winner. When they announced it, I couldn’t believe what I heard, I had won! I was overwhelmed with happiness, it was the best feeling I had ever felt, the judges actually liked my artwork.
I went up to the front to receive my award. Of course I was definitely not dressed for a person who had just won an award, a T-shirt and athletic shorts with paint splattered on them. If that wasn’t enough, I tripped on someone sitting on the floor in the front, although I didn’t fall, I did stumble which was still very embarrassing, and I could feel my face was turning red from embarrassment. Anyway, I went up and received my award and returned to my seat, where the rest of my family was sitting. They congratulated me and I said,
“Thank you, I just can’t believe I actually won!”
Next they announced First, Second, and Third. Everyone was separated by grade, 6th & 7th, 8th & 9th, 10th & 11th, and then 12th. They announced 6th & 7th first, which wasn’t my category. But next they announced 8th & 9th, my grade, I was so anxious to see what place I got in, it was overwhelming. They announced Third place, then Second, and finally, First place:
¨And in first place, Jacob Uhlig with his piece, 3D string art,¨ the lady said.
I couldn’t believe that I had won, not only the specialty award, but also First Place. I went up and received my award with my paint splattered clothes, and luckily didn’t fall this time. Then went back to my seat and was again congratulated by my family.
“Thank you so much, I was not expecting first place at all!!”
I was so happy that I won two awards, they were the biggest awards I had ever won. My hard work definitely paid off. My piece took a little more than 3 weeks to make. It was very challenging because I had to come up with a really great design, then hammer in 392 nails, glue/nail the frame together, paint it, and then put the string on. It was the best piece of work I made so far. I am very proud of my piece, and learned that if you work really hard and are determined to win, the work will definitely pay off in the future.