This I Believe

This I Believe…

Spelling can be amusing. My day is more interesting if I hear a new word and then discover how to spell that word. And having a bountiful vocabulary with a plethora of ranging words can get a person far in life. Spelling is something I can touch on my keyboard, or smell in an old book. Don’t get me wrong, spelling’s fun, but spelling’s not one of my hobbies. The dictionary is not a book I read in my spare time. Webster’s Unabridged is not my equivalent of the Bible.

However, lists of commonly misspelled words do happen to be a source of mild fascination to me. If a friend has a list of commonly misspelled words printed on the inside of their Trapper Keeper folder, I’ll peer at the list to see which words I can spell. Most of the words I can do, easy as pie. Although some words always get me. Recommend? That’s a tricky one. Broccoli? That’s hard too. Beautiful was always hard to spell, until Jim Carrey came along in Bruce Almighty and proclaimed, “B-E-A-U-tiful!”

Think about how often you use spelling everyday. Spelling relates to history class, Spanish class, science class, IMP, and certainly to English class. Spelling applies to text messages, homework, reading a magazine and writing emails. This whole essay is composed of spelling! You simply can’t escape it.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, is a musical about a group of young kids who compete in a spelling bee together. This show praises the various joys of spelling. “At the bee we seem better, as we count out each letter in our mind, and we find we love spelling! It makes us feel normal,” sing the actors of the play. Apparently, spelling can even be therapeutic for some people.

For about eight years now, participating in a spelling bee has been a fantasy of mine. Although I probably would chicken out if I was actually given the opportunity to compete in one. Still, in my imagination a spelling bee would be fun. Kids from schools all over Massachusetts would compete. At the bee, I’d even recognize a friend or two from Milton High or Newton South. All the spellers would be seated in neat rows on a stage, with our numbers hanging on cards around our necks. The event would be televised of course. An omniscient voice from somewhere in the audience would call out words and definitions to us, one by one. And at the end of the bee, I’d take home the first place trophy. At least in my imagination I would.