Friday; May 8
When you hear the phrase “Miss Congeniality” what comes to mind? Okay, after thinking of the Sandra Bullock movies, what comes to mind? Interestingly, I think that the modern application of “Miss Congeniality” has taken something special and made it a negative. In reality, “Miss Congeniality” comes from a prestigious honor from pageants that is voted on by contestants, not judges. It is given to the person who is helpful and supportive. Unfortunately, it is too often perceived to be some afterthought awarded somewhere after the fourth runner-up. It can be seen as something given to someone who didn’t really win anything. That is not the intent of the award, but if we aren’t careful, it can be viewed as a glorified participation ribbon. The reason I bring this up is so that we don’t become so jaded when we don’t win the grand prize that we don’t value the accolades we do get. In an era when second place or runner-up is perceived as “first loser”, we must be careful not to ...