The Story of My Life

Seems like my whole life I've done some great things but come up just a little short of the prize. As a kid, I had one astronomical year on my soccer team, but another kid was just a little bit better that year. Any other year I'd have won the MVP, but this other kid got it. Every few years something like this happens to me, and it just happened again.

I used to scoff at people who say, "Second place is first loser," but this time that's what it feels like. The prize I just missed (for my company, sworn to secrecy until the award is announced by the awarding organization) gives tons of recognition to the winner with only a little differentiation between the near-misses and the also-rans.

I don't know who won; they won't announce it for a month. And I know they must be deserving. I'm told it was essentially a dead heat, but There Can Be Only One, and once again it wasn't I. The awards we will get are some small consolation, but it's still First Loser.