Looking back to the SPBCN competition I took part a while ago, I have quite a lot of things to share. Firstly, I am very delighted that I won first place in this competition. I still remember how happy I felt when I saw a familiar word in the word list or get a hard word correct for the first time. Secondly, I am glad that I made friends with other spellers from all over the country. Additionally, this competition has made me overcome my shyness in public and improved my self-confidence. Last but not least, a genuine thanks to friends, family and others who helped me. In the end, believe that if you do not succeed the first time, try, try again, you will always be the winner of your life.

I want to say that I benefited a lot from the Spelling Bee. It really helped me a lot. Not only did it increase my vocabulary, but it also taught me how to endeavor towards your goal. I've taken part in the Spelling Bee for two years, and in the second year I got the champion of the National Spelling Bee. What I concluded from the experience of these two competitions is that, if you try your best to do something and you have faith that you can succeed, then nothing is unachievable. The power of faith is enormous and make a person powerful. I truly believed that I had the ability to take the championship of the Spelling Bee and faith had supported me through trouble in reciting words, trouble in understanding their true meaning etc. But I knew that I could defeat all these problems. So I just gritted my teeth and conquered all the problems. It was also a chance to show how to achieve your dream by your own endeavor. I understood the only way to achieve something is by persistence and self-endeavor.The Spelling Bee also helped me broaden my scope of knowledge. Some of the words I recited were really hard to remember because they're medical or scientific terms which I'm not familiar with at all. By reciting these words, I could increase my vocabulary and learn something (whether astronomical or geographical knowledge) that I wasn't familiar with. It really increased my scope of knowledge. I really benefited from the Spelling Bee. I loved it very much and it really became one of my hobbies and interests.

In may 2005, I, as the representative of China, joined the match of American spelling, I was desirous of this competition. After kinds of matches in half a year, finally I had been the representative of China to join it. I came over a lot of difficulties from myself, my family and other things. When I was preparing for the match, I felt extremely disappointed and extremely confident. I had to prepare for almost thousand of words every day including pronunciation, illustrative sentences and origin of worlds. But when I was in Washington, I realized that we, as non-native speakers, need to comprehend the words not only the vocabulary after written examination. I stopped my match because of my unsatisfactory written exam. But I had participated the opening fair, outside BBQ, tour of Washington, important closing ceremony and reception dancing party, so I harvested more.

I started participating in spelling bee in 2013, and got the champion of China in 2014 and the runner-up in 2016. The spelling bee has enriched my vocabulary and helped me learn better about the world. This summer’s NASCC was a brand new experience for me. Students from both China and USA competed on the same stage, and I was able to see how excellent American national finalists were and challenge myself. The training courses taught me how to remember words scientifically and systematically. We also had some fun lectures, sports and parties, and I learned more about American culture. After the competition we also traveled in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and it broadened my horizon. I truly thank the organizers of SPBCN for giving me this platform of learning and competing. I hope that more Chinese students can participate in spelling bee and learn about American culture in the following years.