‘Cute pollinator’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
You guys, my nerdy, nerdy heart may just burst with glee- the National Spelling Bee starts today. And it will be televised OH MY GOD. In fact, the finals will be televised on ABC in prime time. This is going to be the best nerd television since Chuck and The Big Bang Theory. You can also follow the bee on Twitter.
Why am I so excited about this? Well, aside from the fact that I competed in the qualifying arounds when I was in eighth grade (defeated, I remain convinced to this day, not by my own spelling deficiency but by the pronouncer’s thick Pittsburgh accent that obscured the phonetics of the word), and met a lifelong best friend through it… I remember very clearly being a junior high nerd, and feeling intense relief every time I participated in activities with other junior high nerds like me. Summer science and tech classes? Astronaut camp? Spelling bee? I was in for ALL of it, not just because I was such an overachiever, but because it was where I felt most at home. So even now, at 30, I feel a lingering kinship with the Bee spellers, and hope that they will continue to embrace their nerdiness. I promise, guys… it gets easier and more fun to be the smart kid.
Good luck, spellers! Hope you get the chance to enjoy the city while you’re here.
Tiffany Baxendell Bridge is an Internet enthusiast and an incurable smartass. When not heckling the neighborhood political scene on Twitter, she can be found goofing off with her ukulele, Bollywood dancing, or obsessing about cult TV. She is That Woman With the Baby In the Bar.
Tiffany lives in Brookland with her husband Tom, son Charlie, and two high-maintenance cats. Read why Tiffany loves DC.
