real simple magazine life lessons essay contest

Real Simple asked, What was the most important day of your life? And more than 5,000 of you answered. Deputy Editor Noelle Howey spoke to winner Aldra Robinson of Long Beach, California, about her moving and unforgettable essay, which can be found at the end of the interview. RS: How did you get the idea for this essay? Did you know you always wanted to write about this experience? That is, working in a hospital and witnessing tragedy as well as everyday acts of courage.Aldra Robinson: I was watching a medical drama on TV, and the storyline reminded me of my time working in an intensive care unit. There are so many stories I could tell, but my memory always returns to one family. I turned off the TV and grabbed Real Simple. The first page it opened to noted the essay contest. It was a coincidence that, in hindsight, doesn’t seem like much of a coincidence. It’s been almost 10 years [since the events that take place in the essay], and I’m still in awe of how that family was able to handle something so horrific with such grace. Whenever I start to feel stressed by some self-created drama or work deadline, I think of that family and remind myself that nothing going on in my world is anything close to tragic, and even in the face of truly difficult circumstances, I can choose how I will respond. I thought it was a lesson worth sharing, and even if it wasn’t chosen, it might do some good to write it. RS: This essay can be tough to read, given its somber subject matter. Was it equally challenging to write? AR: I hesitate to say that it was. Obviously, writing about it is nothing compared to living it. Most of my writing is humorous―or it tries to be, anyway―so writing about something that couldn’t be turned into a big joke was intimidating. When I worked in the hospital, at the end of my shift I would sometimes take the stairs instead of the elevator because I didn’t want.
From Real Simple magazine, July 2014:   “Have you ever had a Eureka moment? Tell us about it.” “Think back on the instant when everything became clear. The split second when you realized that you had chosen the right career. Or the moment when you knew that your dearest friendship would last forever. Whether your epiphany changed your life or just made your day, write it down and share it with Real Simple.” Enter Real Simple’s seventh annual Life Lessons Essay contest and you could have your essay published in Real Simple and receive a prize of ,000. Send your typed, double-spaced submission (1,500 words maximum, preferably in a Microsoft Word document) to lifelessons@realsimple.com. Contest ends September 18, 2014. Click here for contest rules. If you wrote on Prompt 40, Pivotal Events.. you’re on your way to entering this contest!.
Would your world now be completely different—even unthinkable—if, at some point in the past, you hadn’t made a seemingly random choice? Tell us about it. Maybe you stayed a few extra minutes at a party—and met your soul mate. Maybe you decided to have lunch with a friend or quit a job or just took the long way home. If you can’t imagine the rest of your life without what happened next, write it down and share it with us. Enter Real Simple’s eighth annual Life Lessons Essay Contest and you could have your essay published in Real Simple and receive a prize of ,000.Read This Year's Winning Essays: 1. How to enter: This contest begins at 12:01 A.M. Eastern Time (ET) on May 11, 2015, and ends at 11:50 P.M. ET on September 21, 2015. To enter online, send your typed, double-spaced submission (1,500 words maximum, preferably in a Microsoft Word attachment) to lifelessons@realsimple.com. To enter via postal mail, submit your essay by mailing your entry to Essay Contest, Real Simple, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, 9th floor, New York, NY 10020. Entries must be postmarked no later than September 21, 2015, and received no later than September 28, 2015. Limit one entry per person or e-mail account. Essays should be submitted in English at a maximum of 1,500 words and typed and double-spaced on 8½-by-11-inch paper. Essays exceeding this length or handwritten may not be considered. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, illegible, or incomplete entries, postage-due mail, or entries not received for any reason. Entries will not be acknowledged or returned. By entering, Entrant warrants that his or her entry (1) is original and does not infringe the intellectual-property rights of any third party, (2) has not been published in any medium, and (3) has not won an award.2. Judging: All entries will be judged by Real Simple editors, based on the following criteria: originality (25.