January202011
![when i was in elementary school, i was selected to participate in the school spelling bee. they handed out national spelling bee study guides for us to look through in preparation. i took it very seriously and pored over every page. i stressed about the endless amount of words to memorize. how could i possibly win? these words were HARD, and there were so many.
the day of the spelling bee, i nervously stood on stage, shifting my feet, in front of our entire school. did i mention i hate speaking in front of crowds? i have no idea how many rounds i made it through, or if i even made it through any at all. i just remember that when it was my turn, i heard a word starting with a p. ”can you repeat the word please?” period? is that really the word? no way. that word is way too easy. they gave us the NATIONAL spelling bee book to study, for heaven’s sake. it must be pirouette.
i quietly spelled pirouette correctly, cheeks flushing.
everyone in the room was silently staring. the teacher leading the program paused and gave me a funny look. she kindly told me i could take my seat. i had spelled “period” incorrectly. once out of the spotlight, i replayed the previous minutes in my head.
why the hell did they give us national spelling bee books to study when they were asking words like PERIOD?
[this is me.]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lfc1p7J1vM1qzir91o1_400.jpg)
when i was in elementary school, i was selected to participate in the school spelling bee. they handed out national spelling bee study guides for us to look through in preparation. i took it very seriously and pored over every page. i stressed about the endless amount of words to memorize. how could i possibly win? these words were HARD, and there were so many.
the day of the spelling bee, i nervously stood on stage, shifting my feet, in front of our entire school. did i mention i hate speaking in front of crowds? i have no idea how many rounds i made it through, or if i even made it through any at all. i just remember that when it was my turn, i heard a word starting with a p. ”can you repeat the word please?” period? is that really the word? no way. that word is way too easy. they gave us the NATIONAL spelling bee book to study, for heaven’s sake. it must be pirouette.
i quietly spelled pirouette correctly, cheeks flushing.
everyone in the room was silently staring. the teacher leading the program paused and gave me a funny look. she kindly told me i could take my seat. i had spelled “period” incorrectly. once out of the spotlight, i replayed the previous minutes in my head.
why the hell did they give us national spelling bee books to study when they were asking words like PERIOD?
[this is me.]
