I can tell you one thing by reading your post, and that is that you want to be popular for the right reasons, and I applaud you for that.
It is so sad when I hear that curators are misusing their "jobs" to gain popularity. It is so wrong!
I've learned over the years that you must stay true to who you are, no matter what!

Good luck with the contest, and thank you for the invitation.
I have dropped mine.