Josiah Bancroft's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"

I cannot spell. It’s no secret. In fact, I announce this deficiency to my English class at that start of each new semester. It’s the second thing I tell them about myself after my name. I make this awkward confession so that when I misspell a word on the whiteboard, “rythm” or “obssesion,” we are all prepared, and no one screams.

My spelling has improved over the years, though the gains have been slow. In middle school, I learned it was “people,” not “pepole.” In high school, I discovered that “whether” is a conjunction, while “wether” is a castrated sheep. I still have to take a deep breath every time I attempt to tap “restaurant” into my map app.

I realize the list of beloved writers who were also terrible spellers is long (Hemmingway, Austen, Keats, Yeats), but I can't help but to feel a pang of linguistic shame. One day, I hope to not introduce my composition course like it’s a Misspellers Anonymous meeting: “Hello, my name is Josiah Bancroft, and I cannot spell.”