Poetry Slam

I had the humbling experience of entering a poetry slam last night. A poetry slam is a contest in which each writer has 3 minutes per round to recite a poem. We had 3 rounds and 6 poets in the slam. The first 2 rounds were preliminary. The final round featured the top three poets from the first 2 rounds.
There was a panel of 3 judges. They rated the poetry on a scale of 1 to 10. My scores were considerably lower than what I was hoping for. I felt a little dejected in receiving scores as low as 5. I have received a lot of positive feedback on my writing. This was one of the few times I've seen real criticism of my work.
I have come a long way as a writer since I started journaling this past year. Last night was a reminder that I still can progress much further. I'm happy to be able to view my writing in this light. I have not allowed myself to be discouraged by my experience last night. It is instead inspiring me to not get to comfortable in being the writer I already am.
On a side note the winner of last nights poetry slam was to say the least, deserving. He came across as being very real. I was amazed not really by his use of language as much as how he portrayed himself. I felt in one way that I could relate to him and in another I felt admiration. I got a chance to talk to him after the slam. I told him how much I loved his poetry. He returned the compliment. All in all I had a great night out.