Fugal
Fugal
Halle Fugal
Mr. Williams
UVU 1010-A4: Literacy Narrative
6 September 2018
Forever Impenetrable
The stage light shone so brightly in my eyes that I couldn’t tell how many fourth, fifth, and sixth graders I was standing in front of. I tried to remain calm, though I knew my turn was approaching. I had made it through every round successfully, leaving it down to only two contestants: Caden Cole and myself. This was my second year participating in the school-wide competition, and I received second place the previous year as a fifth grader. I was mentally prepared to be the winner this year. As it became my turn, I prayed that I would get a word that I knew how to spell. I knew that my laborious hours of studying with my mom would pay off. When I was addressed the word “impenetrable,” I confidently started spelling it. I spelled it out “i-n-p-e-n-e-t-r-a-b-l-e,” and was devastated when the judges let me know that my spelling was incorrect. My only hope was that my opponent would misspell his next two words… which he didn’t. In my mind, Caden fortuitously won the spelling bee. I took my loss well, but on the inside it hurt to know that I was so close to winning, yet again. It also hurt because spelling was my strong suit, and I thought for sure since I got second place as a fifth grader, that I would get first place as a current sixth grader. To cheer myself up, I persuaded myself that getting second place in the spelling bee two years in a row equalled first place. From that bleak experience, I knew I would never forget how to spell the word “impenetrable.”
Spelling was my favorite subject all through elementary school. I was good at spelling and I happened to love it. I don’t know why I loved it so much. It could be because it was an awarding feeling for me to be able to hear a word, imagine its structure, write it down on paper, and then be told I spelled it correctly. It could also be because my teachers provided fun ways to study my spelling words, which included spelling games online, tracing words in shaving cream, and creating word puzzles. Whatever caused my love of spelling has stuck with me from kindergarten until now as a senior.
I was always in the highest difficulty spelling groups for spelling tests, which I was very proud of. As an elementary school student, spelling was a big deal to me. I became very competitive with my spelling test scores. I made sure to always have a “100%” at the top of my spelling test paper, which I would show off to my friends. My friends didn’t find the same joy in spelling that I did. I still remember my favorite spelling test of all time, which took place in Miss Draney’s fifth grade classroom. One week we were assigned to study the spelling of all the 50 United States of America. By the time I was a fifth grader, I had memorized how to spell most of the 50 states. When Friday came, spelling test day, most of my classmates were daunted by the 50 word spelling test, instead of the usual ten. As...
