My handwriting is, I confess, poor. For two reasons.
First, when I was 11 my family spent a year in England, and I went to school there. The teachers took one look at my round hand and instantly tried to convert me to italic writing. I nearly got there when I got back to America, and my teachers insisted I go right back to round hand. Well, I never recovered.
Second, my 7th grade teacher excused my poor handwriting by saying that poor handwriting was a sign of intelligence. Well, of course I wasn't about to improve my handwriting in the face of THAT, especially since my sister's handwriting was praiseworthy. Damn if I was going to admit that she could be even remotely as intelligent as I was!
I think one reason I passed the bar exam with such a high score (the Washington bar exam is all essay, two and a half solid days of writing, nary a multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank anywhere) is that the examiners weren't willing to spend the time trying to decipher my handwriting, so since they couldn't say I gave the wrong answers, they just gave me full credit for the right ones. Anyhow, that's what my wife used to say when I got a bit fiesty about my high scores on the bar. |
