An Ounce of Good Luck: The Time I Won a Sports Car

In the grand scheme of things I've had a pretty great life - I'm healthy, I have a great family and so on. But I've always considered myself incredibly unlucky when it comes to other things: I'm always getting hurt, missing out on opportunities, getting sick, and other trivial things.

So, much to my surprise, when I got a call that I won a convertible sports car, I was in complete shock to say the least.

In 2011 I did some independent contracting work for Cadillac. I would travel around California doing promotions on their new V-Series models. While working at the Long Beach Grand Prix I saw a booth across the aisle promoting a car give away, sponsored by the David Foster Foundation.

The car was present, and it was amazing. The 2011 Chevy Camaro convertible was an exact replica of that year's Indy 500 Pace Car. It was painted white with orange stripes and included crushed orange leather seats, an impressive engine and incredible detail.

Now all of us have probably signed up to win a car at least once in our lives. But when have you ever heard of someone actually winning one? I haven't!

So I decided I would enter by texting a submission number a few times a week in hopes of landing the prize.

A few months later, I received an affidavit in the mail saying I was 'one' of the grand prize finalists. I didn't believe it, and figured it was a long shot that I was actually a top candidate. I didn't end up submitting it because it asked for my social security number, and I didn't feel comfortable submitting that to a third-party company via mail.

A few weeks after that, I received a voicemail. It said "Hey, you are our grand prize winner, just wondering if you are still interested in claiming this car." I still didn't even believe them at this point, but called back the next day.

The gentlemen said I HAD WON THE CAR! I asked over and over, "Did I really win? I am THE one and only winner of this car?" It was real. I had actually won something for literally the first time in my life, and it was a car!

Long story short, they flew me to Sioux Falls to claim the vehicle. I drove it around the parking lot, but otherwise didn't take it anywhere. I ended up selling the vehicle to a gentleman in Sweden, because I didn't find it necessary to keep it. The bold race car definitely wasn't my style, the upkeep would be tough and I was worried about keeping it safe and protecting it in Los Angeles.

I questioned if I made the right choice for awhile, but I am now sound with my decision. I was able to pay off some student loans, buy an efficient used vehicle that fit my needs and purchased a new laptop.

It now seems like a distant memory, but I still can't believe this happened. Just goes to show that everyone has a little bit of luck in them. Don't pass up the opportunity to submit to contests - you never know when your day could come!