2130. A litany of achievement

Beryl was excited. She had won a scholarship to a prestigious university.
“All my hard work paid off,” said Beryl. “This is unbelievably exciting! Thank you!”
“Oh no,” said the university. “You got the scholarship because you are Black.”

Earle was excited. He had won a scholarship to a prestigious university.
“All my hard work paid off,” said Earl. “This is unbelievably exciting! Thank you!”
“Oh no,” said the university. “You got the scholarship because you are in a wheelchair.”

Fay was excited. Fay had won a scholarship to a prestigious university.
“All my hard work paid off,” said Fay. “This is unbelievably exciting! Thank you!”
“Oh no,” said the university. “You got the scholarship because you are transgender.”

Craig was excited. He had won a scholarship to a prestigious university.
“All my hard work paid off,” said Craig. “This is unbelievably exciting! Thank you!”
“Oh no,” said the university. “You got the scholarship because you are White. We had to show we weren’t biased.”

(Footnote: Unlike the scholarship recipients in the story above I have had the thrill of having won first place in Chel Owens’ A Mused Poetry Contest. It’s well worth a look at this contest if you don’t already follow it. And it’s fun, free, and easy to enter! You should think about giving it a go!)

1392. The ship sets sail!

The ship sets sail! Of course, it didn’t have sails; it was a modern ship, but the expression from sailing days remained.

Curtis and Connie waved farewell to their daughter, Isabella. She had a terrible fear of flying and had won a huge scholarship to study overseas at a prestigious university. You’ve no idea how difficult it is these days to book a cabin on a ship that’s not simply a cruise liner.

And so they hugged and Isabella walked up the gangway, waving goodbye and blowing kisses. It was sad, but so exciting! The start of a profoundly wonderful adventure!

She would write, but she never came back. They never saw her again.