Is Nothing Without The Will To Action

Power of the Pen ⇒ is the name of a creative prose writing competition for middle school students in the State of Ohio along with being the name of the 501(c)(3) that runs the competition. Contestants are given prompts along with a limited amount of time to create something competitive. Individual writers as well their school earn points to determine victory and possible advancement through the county, regional, and state tournaments.

For students that have a direct interest in both writing and competition the tournament is optimal. If a young writer’s interest is only in writing then the confines of the rules at that age can inspire more focused thought. Those with beating hearts of champions had better sharpen up on technique and get ready to pander to the tastes of English teachers. As just another item on a bucket list, the tournament is OK but will not mean as much to the individual and will require explanation outside of Ohio.

Another Man’s Trophy

Donor, Donor, Receiver, & Proofreader Adam* stated that this shirt was earned by his brother who was also one of my Power of the Pen team mates. His brother was, and still is, very smart so there no surprise that he advanced to the State Finals. I honestly do not remember if he won at state, but I think that he did place. I was unable to find any record of the finalists of that school year for proof.

Some might accuse me of wearing another man’s trophy or a team mate’s uniform. I do not think that Adam’s brother cares because he left this shirt behind so as to move on through his future. I am not sure if the shirt was one or given to those that made the State Finals so I would not even know that context from which I was accepting this shirt from Adam. My reasons for accepting this donation are admittedly selfish.

Sandbaggin’

For me, this shirt functions mainly as a nostalgia piece of my own experience with the the tournament. I was a Power of the Pen competitor in the 7th grade because I thought the competition would be fun for some reason that escaped me long ago. Come that Saturday morning of county competition, I was tired and not looking forward to losing a day to a school event at some other school half an hour away. I did not turn in my best work as I was simply writing to pass time. I knew that I was not going to advance to Regionals, but that I would have my Saturdays back.

Looking back, I should have tried harder so that at least I would have at least respected the effort that the adults made in running the program. I also should not have taken a spot that potentially could have been taken by another of my classmates.

Additional memories include the rewarmed cheeseburgers and a lack of left-handed desks at the school. The schoolchildren were provided fast food that was rewarmed in the school’s cafeteria for lunch. I was probably the only person there that did not like cheese so I had to add hunger to my crankiness while I was at the competition. The lack of left-handed desks in the rooms that had right-handers was something that I adapted to by that time.

Joggin’

Most of the subjects of Free Shirt Archive dossiers are ideas of which I am detached. Even though I detached myself from the Power of the Pen competition itself, I do not want to lose my good, bad, or neutral memories. Though not every memory needs to be held onto as something precious, forgetting too much is dangerous. The information of life needs to be analyzed and considered from different angles throughout time which requires the memories to process.

Positively remembering a slightly negative experience might seem counter-intuitive. I think because the memories are slightly negative and that I grew past the angst that I lived through during that period of my life, I can look back and laugh at myself. Getting this shirt was an additional reminder of the absurdity of my past. When certain others see this shirt they are prone to share their better memories which can be interesting.

Big Red

Denison University ⇒ hosted the tournament from 1990-2000. Denison is a private liberal arts university located in rural Granville, Ohio. I was a campus visitor one time; it is a nice-looking campus.

The College of Wooster ⇒ is the current host of the tournament. There are also scholarship opportunities for winners that were not available during the era from which this shirt dates.