Call for Poetry Submissions—What Does It Mean to Choose Yourself?

Photo by Deandre on Unsplash

In a journaling session this morning, I went through a few exercises that led me to a startling truth:

I strive to be the chosen one, but I don’t often choose myself.

It seems contradictory to an ambitious person.

We all chase our dreams tenaciously, and most of us believe that sheer hard work will reap the rewards.

But what about the softer aspects of dream chasing?

Times, when you lift yourself up from failure and keep pushing forward despite rejection, is what builds resilience. Though, this often gets masked behind the theme of “sheer hard work.”

But what about the soft work?

I wrote today:

Many of us strive to be the chosen one,
Before choosing ourselves.

The give & take is out of balance,
Until we even out the scales.

But you don’t need a stage to validate your worth,
You just need to believe that you’re worth it first.

So, how do you know when you’re choosing yourself?

What actions or routines reinforce that self-love?

Is it tough to distinguish what you do for yourself versus what you do for validation?

Pour it all onto the page in this call for poetry submissions.

A few new rules:Keep your submission to ~ 350 words max.Format the poem as it is meant to be readMake sure to put the “poetry” tag on your storyFocus on clarity — make sure your piece has a clear premise and takeawayThe same rules still apply:You can submit to this or ANY of our past writing prompts. Just scroll through our previous newsletters. They’ll be marked “Call for Submissions.”If you’re already a writer for CRY, go ahead and submit.If you’re not a writer for CRY but would like to submit to this or any other prompt, let us know and we’ll add you ASAP. Include your profile handle in your message or comment.Be as creative as you want in your submissions. As long as you stick to the topic, we’ll consider it.Just because you submit doesn’t mean we’ll post. If you haven’t heard back from us in three days, consider that a pass.

Please reach out if you have any questions at all. If you are new to Medium, here’s how you submit a draft to a publication.

Call for Poetry Submissions—What Does It Mean to Choose Yourself? was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.