Day 07: Something at which you've been a champion or the best.

This one is not the easiest one to answer. I've never felt that I was the best at anything, but really, there have been some times that might count. I just never viewed them as such.


I've been able to read since I was at least four years old. Because of that, I have been a decent speller for almost as long. When I was in second grade, our teacher picked up on the fact that I could spell better than all the kids in my class, so she challenged the fifth grade class to a spelling bee. We only had four classrooms in our school and each one was a different grade. The fifth grade teacher was also the principal and he readily agreed to the challenge. 


When the day came for the spelling bee, my class lined up against one wall and the fifth grade along another. One by one people dropped out as they spelled words wrong until it was just me and one fifth grader. He and I went back and forth as words were given to us. Eventually, he spelled a word (that escapes my memory) wrong. It happened that I knew how to spell it, so when they gave me the same word, I spelled it correctly. I had won the challenge against the fifth graders. I felt pretty darned good.


Then while attending college in Utah, I took a Creative Writing class and we were assigned to write two poems. One was supposed to rhyme and the other was free-style. I got As on both, but the professor suggested that I enter the one in the University's college writing contest. I felt pretty good about it, but didn't think it was something that that others would understand. It was on the dark side and spoke of the psychological oppression I had dealt with while married. But, I did submit it and was completely surprised when months later, I got a letter in the mail telling me I had won in the poetry division. What a shock! It was a wonderful surprise and one of which I am still proud.