Since forever, I have always loved words. I began reading at an advanced level in Kindergarten, and was entered into my first spelling bee in middle school. I did not place in that district-wide bee, but the experience and sense of accomplishment for being on such an esteemed platform motivated me to excel in all things Language Arts. Years later, as a high school freshman student of the Upward Bound program, I was dared by my classmates to participate in the on-campus vocabulary challenge. This challenge was not exclusive to students, but was open to the adult counselors as well.