One Artist in a Million

Rosemarie stared at her computer screen, the email from the Louvre Art Museum flashing from her inbox. Only months ago, had she submitted her contemporary watercolor piece to the youth competition, and now she didn’t know whether to feel excited or nervous.

She came from a French soccer-obsessed family of athletes. Rosemarie’s brothers cringed when she showed up to a game, possessively clutching her sketchbook to her chest. Her sisters teased her when they came back from practice to find her sitting on the couch with colored pencils in hand. Her parents only grudgingly signed her up for studios and classes. Rosemarie even had to save up her allowance and babysitting money to buy her own art supplies. All those nights she had crept from bed once all her family had gone to sleep to work on her prized art piece, hoping it would be worth it.

Rosemarie prepared herself for crushing defeat. The Metropolitan had rejected her just a week ago for a beautiful piece of poetry she composed, so the Louvre should have the same outcome.

Only one in a million could win this. Rosemarie reminded herself there were plenty of other kids around the world that could have won other than her. But first she had to see what they sent her. 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . there, clicked open the email. Rules to regulations, copyrights, and originality, until at last, it announced that she WON! She was the one in a million! Her heart swelled with happiness and pride. No words, not even a piece of art, could describe the joy Rosemarie felt that day and after, when her famiiy finally, finally accepted Rosemarie for herself.