My First Cursive Word

     I sat there staring with my mind in a knot. How could something look so beautiful, yet be almost impossible to follow. As my eyes went in circles tracing the thin black line it felt like it just was never going to end. I sat back and attempted to take it all in. As I looked around all the others were already in deep thought staring blankly at their papers. I then looked down and let my thoughts race.

     I dragged my hand over to my paper as I gripped my pencil with my sweaty palm. As the tip touched the dotted line it felt like the temperature of the room had risen fifty degrees. Up, then down; swinging left to right. Loopty-loop, then a flip at the end for a finish. My mouth dropped as I looked at the squiggle on my paper. I looked to the left then to my right to see my classmates work. I then looked back down at my own paper and saw that my classmates were far ahead of me. With panic, I quickly started trying to copy the board. By this point I was not even in the lines anymore. It was official, I was incapable. The devastation that filled my head became aggravation that was apparently noticeable because my teacher had walked over to me. She said that if I took my time I was capable of anything. She grabbed my hand and swung it in little circles as my mouth dropped in awe. It was like she sent a magic touch through my hands onto the paper. After a sentence of swirly lines, it was then my turn.
     I wiped the sweat off my hand onto my blue jeans. I sat up straight, then grabbed my pencil that my teacher had just quickly sharpened. As I gripped the thin piece of wood I dragged it back and forth through the dotted line. I picked my pencil up off the paper in excitement and relief. I had just written my first cursive word. With applause, my teacher smiled and said “I told you so.” My grin was shining from a mile away. I could not wait to go home and tell my parents that I was just like them and could write in cursive. It felt like I was a grown up for the first time.
     Before I knew it I had written an entire sentence in cursive. The exaggerated loops and swirls became my signature mark. It was fun to see how fast you could write, or even how sloppy or pretty you could make it. It was a habit now and made writing enjoyable. Cursive had turned into a mature trendy thing for us third-graders. As class ended it felt like only a few minutes had gone by. But, one thing was for sure, cursive became my new hobby.