Calvert City’s Youth Voice is a monthly writing contest developed for young authors between the age of 5 and 18. The first of May was the deadline for entries and the winner is Skyler Ford of Paducah, Kentucky.
Calvert Area Development Association used a rubric judging system to choose the May winner. “We received 50 submissions and they were all wonderful,” said Blair Travis, Director of Marketing, Communications, and Business Development for Calvert City. Judges received the submissions with just the writings. They did not know how old the author was or where they were located.
Skyler is a 9th grader at McCracken County High School. He enjoys playing the guitar, piano, and e-commerce. He also enjoys playing chess and basketball. His favorite teacher is Mr. Dobbins.
The next deadline for the monthly writing contest is June 1. Young writers are encouraged to submit original work in any style of creative writing. One winner will be awarded monthly.
Monthly winners will receive $50 and an ad in the Lake News with their published work. The deadline to submit work will be on the 1st of each month. This contest is not limited to Calvert City residents. We encourage writers from across the region to submit their original work.
For more information on Calvert City’s Youth Voice, please call City Hall at 270-395-7138 or by email at info@calvertcityky.gov.
Download Skyler Ford’s Submission HERE!
THIS I BELIEVE
By Skyler Ford
I believe that people should use every bit of their potential and not waste a drop of it, so they can be the best versions of themselves. When you look in the mirror each day, you are looking at your competition. Whether it’s in school, in sports, at work, or in doing a tedious task such as cleaning up a mess, people should give it their all.
I have believed this from a very young age. In fact, I can remember as far back as when I played little league baseball, and I was just a small tot. One could say that I wasn’t a shining star, but I would always make sure that I gave it my all every time that I played. I have continued to carry this philosophy with me throughout my life, and it is just as much a part of who I am as my fingerprint.
Everyone’s ability to find their unique potential and to make personal progress toward their own ultimate level of greatness is the best way to measure success. Instead of comparing yourself to other people, your potential is what you should strive to meet. For instance, compare yourself to how good you were at something the last time you tried it. Just yesterday, I beat my lap time in P.E. by 40 seconds from last week, but you can do this for other things as well, not just in physical activity. Maybe see how much better your school grades can get, or see how you can help around the house more. Try to be just a little bit better than you were yesterday, and as
long as you are making progress, you are making yourself better. Even if you are slow as a turtle, the turtle will eventually get to the top of the mountain if it keeps moving forward instead of simply doing nothing.
As you can see, simply doing these little things will lead to you giving more and more effort in everything that you do in life, and it will lead to you becoming the best “you” that you can be. You must unlock your potential the same way that I strive to do all the way back in little league until this very day; this I believe.