After the meeting, I was wondering about myself or my ability in English. I was continuously making mistakes in simple English words like PAID (I wrote payed and again corrected it as payyed) in a projected screen during the meeting. How come I misspelled a word like paid? It was a mind-googling moment for me.
Even though I am a person who completed whole works of Shakespeare and most of the classics in my school days, co-authored a book, wrote many articles, pamphlets, and some spoken word poetry, Am I a Chronic Misspeller? Or Poor in English? This question BOMBARDED my mind. The humiliation made me thrive for an answer.
When I searched for my fellow misspellers I was astonished by the result. One of my favorite authors, the author of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen was poor in spelling and grammar. The author who filled my dreams with sea, sharks, and blood- Ernest Hemingway was also one.
“I was … an extraordinarily bad speller and have remained so until this day.” Agatha Christie
This is from the lady who thrilled my teenage -Agatha Christie. Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Fannie Flagg, John Irving, John Keats, WB Yeats, Benjamine Franklin, and many more add to the list. What was common among us other than misspelling was that most of us were identified as dyslexic at some point in life. We commit more mistakes when we are tensed or while in the limelight while writing. But this search proves me not to feel ashamed of misspell; spelling got no role in creativity even literary creativity. If You, as a parent, teacher, friend, colleague, or boss come across a misspeller, keep these points in mind: 1) In this world of auto-correction and spell checks, misspell got no role in the success 2) Misspeller commits more mistakes when they are tensed. So keep them tension-free. 3) Spelling got no role in creativity. 4) Spelling got no role in genius. 5) Stop calling them stupid just because the mechanics of language and creative thought do not necessarily go hand-in-hand. 6) If you see a misspeller in your mirror just smile :).
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