Jun 08 2009
Will I ever be able to do wonky?
While I was sitting at my desk, I looked up at my inspiration board with family pictures and was inspired to do another four letter word block for Tonya. I decided it would be good to do another block for more practice, and because I wanted to do a word that no one else had done. [Something about the need to be original? Unique? Who knows.] After I finished the block, all I can say is that I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to do wonky letters and I’m sure it’s all the fault of my elementary school teachers.
Yes, it’ll definitely take several years of therapy for my brain to do wonky. You see, in elementary school every year I received the dreaded “N” for penmanship. “N” as in needs improvement, not satisfactory, not up to par, not normal, nasty and a whole slew of other negative “N” words. Once in sixth grade, my teacher held up my paper in front of the whole class as a messy example of what a paper should not look like. I was mortified… wanted to die… felt like I was standing in front of the whole class in my underwear. [Mr. Gross if you're out there, you should be paying for my therapy!]
So where am I going with this you ask? Well, because I was traumatized and humiliated for my penmanship [hey, it's not like I wasn't trying to do my best!] I decided to show up those negative Nellies and Neds. In Junior High [Middle School for those of you under 50], I worked really hard at improving my handwriting. I filled notebooks with my handwriting practice. I spent many hours writing 10, 20 & 30 page letters every week to my BFF. I even spent several years graffiti-ing everything in sight with block letters. Block letters with stripes, polka dots, and drop shadows. Lots of L-O-V-E in the shape of a heart. [The school custodians must have loved washing my artwork off the desks everyday.]
Yup, I practiced so hard that now my penmanship is too neat and as a result, I’m having a hard time doing wonky. That’s got to be the reason. It’s certainly not because I have an organized, neat freak personality. [No offense to any organized neat freaks who might be reading this. Really. I have two children who are organized neat freaks and I love them anyway.] So Tonya, here is my second, four letter, unwonky word block for you.
A nice, neat [big, fat?] KISS.
As you can see, I still like going all the way to the edge with my letters. I’m not sure what that says about me, but I’m sure it says something.
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Teachers can really be dumb at times. I had a similar experience in the 4th grade, except it involved coloring an drawing. Teacher passed paper and crayons to everyone but me..gave me scissors and told me I could just cut my pictures out of magazine and paste them on my paper! I give you an A+ on your block.
Glad I never had a mean teacher like that. You CAN get to be wonky. It’s easier to do when you’re more familiar with the technique so you’re not having to think every step. Do this: remake one of your words but this time only use strips that have been cut at angles. And then do it again. Practice. Let me know how that goes.
Hi! Tonya sent me to take a peek at your letters. I think they are fabulous, but if your goal is to make them wonkier, just keep practicing. In grade school, I had several teachers obsessed with penmanship (Palmer Method). I vowed that as an adult, I would write with a highly distinctive hand, legible, but all my own. I’ve always gotten compliments on my unique handwriting, which just makes me want to thumb my nose at those teachers!
sooo, having never seen wonky letters, i thought yours were the wonkiest! i have not the best writing: for me it was the years of taking really fast notes. now the writing looks like i’m a minute behind the teacher and trying to keep up so i don’t lose something thats on the test! oh and this under 50 year old did go to junior high :) (hope that didn’t sound mean, don’t mean for it to) mountain empire junior high. i made fun of my sisters because they only got “middle school” and i was so much cooler for the junior high :) hahha!