Why even terrible spellers love the spelling bee

I'm a horrible speller. But that's why I love the spelling bee.

A boy competes in the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Molly Riley)

I have always been an a-t-r-o-c-i-o-u-s speller.

That made the half-hour drive to elementary school, when my father would hold in one hand the despised, coffee-stained piece of paper containing the 10 words I had to memorize for that week, one of my most miserable childhood rituals. "Embarrassment," he would prompt. "I felt embarrassment when our dog barked at the neighbors."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.