Finally Learning the Importance of Spelling Lessons by Annie

Finally Learning the Importance of Spelling Lessons by Annie - August 2016 Scholarship Essay

“Thank you for Annie for helping to done my homework,” he wrote laboriously, the whites of his knuckles as evident as sand on a beach, his tongue jutting out the side of his mouth. “There!” he exclaimed and handed me the paper with his wide grin, so big that he had to close his eyes. Despite the smile that automatically crossed my face in return, my heart started aching, because 19-year-old Timmy was having trouble writing correct English due to his Down syndrome. I needed the answers to the Book of Life – something, anything, to help me figure out how to help him get it right. As my fingers twitched for the eraser, I stopped myself as Timmy’s face again caught my eye.

I can still vividly picture this look of his in my head, as easily as I can picture my room at home. It is the “Timmy look,” which causes even the most sullen people to smile when they encounter it. As I was drawn to Timmy’s exuberant demeanor, the aching feeling of mine was washed away by a rush of warmth as I remembered that not only did it not matter if the sentence was correct, but Timmy did not mind. Here he was, right in front of me, showing me that perfection does not mean happiness. Here he was, writing sentences with his spelling words, and upon coming across “thank you,” deciding to write about me. Here he was, showing that life is all about the people who are with you while you live it. It is about being there for other people, helping other people, and showing other people how much they mean to you. These relationships are true happiness – not a 36 on your ACT, 100% in every class, a clear complexion, or nine hours of sleep every night. Those are superficial glimpses of perfection that are a measure of hard work and determination, but not a measure of love and selflessness – the true virtues that define our characters. If you have done the absolute best you can with something and you have someone to share that experience with, then you have achieved perfection. Of all people, Timmy was the person who finally helped me realize that. Selfless, free-spirited Timmy shared 43 minutes of each school day with me during our study hall, and it was those times that amounted to the most perfect moments of my junior year.

Thanks to Timmy, Spelling was ironically the academic class I learned the most from in high school. Practicing spelling words with him taught me to take a step back from six AP classes and the stresses of extracurricular activities. Spelling taught me to be a student who cares less about perfection and more about those relationships fostered through being a student.

There was not a day that went by that I did not smile when I was with Timmy. Even if we were just practicing his spelling sentences some random study hall day, no different than any other in the eyes of my peers – that eternal moment in which all of this flashed through my mind will stick with me forever. Staring at his eraser-scratched sheet, my heart full of gratitude, like his, I uttered the words that I have meant the most in my whole life: “You’re welcome Timmy. I’m glad I could help.”