By Emma Wheatley
A few weeks ago, I found myself sitting at my desk at home, writing a thank-you-note for a birthday gift from my grandparents. As I was writing, I realized suddenly that I had no idea whether I had spelled anything correctly. I was particularly stuck on the word “successful”. Two l’s? One c? I just couldn’t remember. For a moment I was convinced that every word in the note was wrong. Why is this happening? I thought as I paged frantically through a dictionary looking for the word. And then it hit me: I have no idea how to spell, and it’s all my Netbook’s fault.
Freshman year I entered St. Teresa’s as a pretty well rounded English student. It was definitely my strongest subject, and I could spell any word thrown at me. Little did I know that this was probably because I hand-wrote almost everything. Notes, essay drafts and homework assignments were all written on notebook paper with a good, old-fashioned pencil. It forced me to remember the spellings of words–a benefit that I didn’t even realize.
Netbooks were introduced sophomore year, which was a blessing and a curse. At first it was all fun and games. Literally. Remember when Tetris was all the rage? It distracted me from the true evil that came with Netbooks–spell check. Who knew that a little red squiggly line under a word could ruin me? I know this may seem confusing: why would a computer application that tells you whether or not you are spelling a word right be a bad thing? Wouldn’t it help my spelling?
No. In fact it would destroy it.
Think of all the times you have seen that little red squiggly. How many times have you actually gone up to the menu bar and clicked on “spell check” to see what the right spelling was? Maybe it’s just me, but when I see the squiggly I start rearranging letters in the word until I’ve spelled it right. I don’t do this in a way that will help me remember the correct spelling, though. I do it absent-mindedly until the squiggly goes away. Then I keep typing, and I probably make that same mistake five more times. Why? Because I don’t actually know how to spell the word.
Mid sophomore year I got an iPhone. This was something that I thought was the greatest device on the planet until I realized that it has been secretly destroying my intelligence as well. Auto-correct. I don’t even have to look when I text anymore. If I know the general location of the letters I’m trying to type, somehow I end up with a perfectly spelled sentence devoid of any punctuation errors.
Between my iPhone and my Netbook, I may never know how to spell again. There is no little red squiggly line in the world of hand-written material. I can’t play around with the letters until the squiggly magically disappears. I just have to go with my instinct. The instinct that no longer exists thanks to the Netbook I’m typing this on right now.
How am I going to handle this? I really don’t know. Maybe I’ll go on a Netbook strike, or I’ll turn my phone’s auto-correct off. What I’m hoping for is a miracle. I’ll wake up one day and I’ll suddenly remember everything. Until then, wish me luck, and don’t judge me if you receive a hand-written note full of mistakes.
