Introduction
The other day I messaged a friend to ask them whether they have used WIX before, in the process of me asking I completely misspelt their name. For whatever reason (maybe they were having a bad day) they flipped out on me, correcting me on my mistake and reminding me that I always misspelt their name.
The problem I have with spelling
The problem I have with spelling is not just limited to names; I struggle to properly spell most things that are perceived as “easy”. For a long time, this was my biggest insecurity. It doesn’t matter how many times I re-read my message before sending it, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE AT LEAST ONE MISTAKE.
What is dyslexia?
My difficulty with spelling and reading is more common than you would think; like 1 in 10 people, I am dyslexic.
According to the oxford dictionary: dyslexia is a disorder that involves difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that does not affect general intelligence.
It is important to note that dyslexia does not hinder your intelligence, in some cases it enhances in; Albert Einstein was dyslexic.
I am also proof of this. Despite having dyslexia and receiving little to no support I was still able to achieve ABB at A Level and get my dream role at one of the biggest firms in the world.
The easiest way to explain dyslexia for someone who doesn’t have it is to show them what I see when I read. Look at the two sentences below, the first one is what I see, the second is what people without dyslexia see.
What I see:
Yesterday I went to a friend’s house to watch a movie.
What people without dyslexia see:
Yesterday I whent to friend houses to wacth movie.
Despite the fact that most people can see the mistakes clearly, I do not have that luxury, as my brain does not function like the majority of people.
My life with dyslexia
People don’t often think about how rude comments about my spelling actually affects me. Knowing that no matter how hard you try to spell something correctly, you’ll always get it wrong, is depressing in itself. But people like adding fuel to the fire, and take it upon themselves to become my English dictionary. Putting * on words that I have misspelt.
My insecurities around spelling is the reason why for much of my teenage life I hated sending any form of written messages, especially in group chats. It is the reason why I hesitated to start TobiTalks and this blog.
It was only until I realised that my flaw in spelling compensates for my natural intelligence and my ability to speak, that I stopped caring. People will always call out your flaws regardless of what it is, so the best thing you can do is wear your flaws like armour, that way it can never be used to hurt you.
However, I know not every dyslexic person has my resilience. So if you are someone who feels the need to always call up someone on their spelling, think about your flaws/insecurities and imagine if someone called you out on it everyday. You wouldn’t like it would you?
All in all I hope sharing my experiences with dyslexia has motivated people that have it. You can really achieve anything when you put your mind to it. You just have to decide that from today spelling and reading will not determine your future. So for those of you reading that have dyslexia or any other difficulties trust me when I tell you, you have better strengths. Focus on that and you will succeed!