I credit the National Spelling Bee for having a profound impact on the direction my life has taken over the last 17 years. I was a speller in the 2000 National Spelling Bee--Speller #73, sponsored by the Zionsville (IN) Times-Sentinel. I was the youngest speller in the Bee that year at 9 years old (which is nearing ancient compared to this year's youngest speller!). My opportunity to participate in the Bee coincided with some of my most formative developmental years, times in which I really started to understand that the world was broader than the confines of my small community.