This is great! I agree that reading and writing can help you feel better about things, and I find that my poems come out better if it's from the heart. And then if they're good it makes me happy, so I cheer up even more! :P Nicely written!

I believe it would be nice if you posted up the essay with all the parts you cut out as well. I know this is for a competition; short and sweet, but it's nice, delicate and lofty. And I know it is an essay, and as nice as it is, watch just a tad, its almost like a story, a biography piece almost at times rather than an essay. But as stated above, nice, and good nonetheless.