Crossword Puzzles

Like most college students, or at least most college students I’ve known, crossword puzzles were a mainstay of my class-going existence. My university had two newspapers, so you had a choice in your free crossword puzzle. I know I had my preference, but at the time, a crossword puzzle was a crossword puzzle. I had no idea that there were different levels of difficulty beyond in got harder Monday to Sunday, that you could usually figure out how hard the puzzle would be based on who published it, or that it really mattered to anyone at all. I just thought that crosswords were to kill time in a boring lecture, while still looking like you were taking notes. My senior year I realized that you really don’t look like you’re taking notes, but I also realized that I didn’t care.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee

I could not tell you when or why I got into spelling bees. They always remind me of my own utter failures at spelling. The highest I ever got in a spelling bee was third place, and it was a team bee. The top three from each class competed against each other in the school spelling bee. I was in fourth grade. I got out (or dinged, in bee-speak) on “bureau.” I still have to spellcheck that one. It’s definitely a mental block for me, because even though I now know how to spell it, I never trust my spelling.

I think the reason I love spelling bees is because I know that I could have done really well if I’d tried. You don’t have to be the smartest, or the strongest, or the coolest to be good at spelling. You don’t have to have special genes that make you taller or shorter or whatever. You just have to be the biggest nerd and the best at remembering trivial details. I am so good at both of those things.