100-Word Memoir
Tracing the Letters That Become Anxious Words
Published in
Apr 4, 2022
“Spell, Rhinoceros.” Mrs. Trent said. I wrote the first five letters.
R-H-I-N-O.
But was it C or S that came next? I tried to remember the flashcards that I had studied the night before. I squeezed my eyes shut but couldn’t bring forth the image of the word on the card. I needed to see it in front of me to tell if it looked right or wrong.
I used my thumb to trace the letters onto my index finger. If I practiced the word on my skin, Mrs. Trent couldn’t think I was copying off my neighbors’ paper.
