The excerpt came from an autobiography she was writing of her life. Like many people, she thought her life was more interesting than it actually was.

She probably saw the Medium competition as a good way to publicize her book, and that's why she entered.

As for the reason she was selected, the judges used the literary bullshit that writers are taught at university. The lady couldn't write to save her life, but to anyone who doesn't do a lot of reading, they wouldn't have known that. They wouldn't have recognized good flow, smooth writing, etc.

They probably had sheet in front of them to look at which went something like this.

1. Does it speak about feelings?

2. Does it describe feelings in an original way?

3. Does it touch on relevant social issues?

The one question that was not asked was "Can the winner actually write?'