( CNN ) -- Phyllophorous : an adjective meaning `` leaf-bearing '' or , alternately , `` the word that exiled me to the oft-fabled Crying Room at the 1986 National Spelling Bee in Washington , D.C. '' Strangely , I did n't mind ; I 'd already gotten my prize . Very few of us are lovely on the outside at age 13 , and even less so are those of us inclined toward worrying words down to their etymological nubbins . My light-socket perm , train track braces and penchant for unicorn sweatshirts were n't doing me any favors when it came to feeling at ease among my peers back home . Yes , I 'd gotten attention from the local press , glossy plaques , a pep rally at my Fort Thomas , Kentucky , school and , creepily enough , an obscene phone call -- all accolades for my ascent through regional bee wins . However , I 'd have gladly traded every scrap of that for a chance to feel like one of the girls who knew how to give herself Sun-In highlights and flirt adorably with the boys on the basketball team . That was until I met Karla . Upon arrival at the Grand Hyatt hotel , spellers were issued a blue , plastic-bound autograph book as impetus to mingle with our fellow contenders . After some initial hesitation , I actually began to enjoy the ritual of handing over the little talisman , scribbling something silly in the the book they 'd handed me in return , then trading back and madly flipping through to see what they 'd written to me . I liked Karla right away . She was `` bee royalty '' -- a brash , third-time competitor from Roanoke , Virginia , prone to yelling things like `` Nuke the French ! '' and quoting British comedy shows . As she doodled an elaborate self-portrait that filled a whole page in the back of the book , she gave me the lay of the land . That kid over there -- rumor had it his family had hired a professional coach to prep him . That girl -- home-schooled . Do n't look for her at any of the mixers or day trips . Her mom was going to keep her locked in the hotel room , cramming until the very last second . 2010 Spelling Bee kicked off Wednesday . Karla , herself , was n't going to be skimping on socializing and sightseeing , but she was going to sequester herself for some last-minute studying in the hopes of making one last run at the title in her final year of eligibility . And oddly -- very oddly -- for me , a kid prone to gut-grinding panic attacks , self-flagellation over academic success and generally ill at ease in my own skin , I began to sink into calm . I was n't , for once , the dorkiest girl in the room , and instead was surrounded by kids who lived for language play , lovely books , good grades and a life of the mind . I 'd suddenly found my people . And while there was n't a gawky little ghost of a chance that I was going to beat them in the bee this year , I was cool with that . My cool lasted until we hit the ballroom stage the next day and a few hundred terrified , raw-nerved elementary school kids with pasteboard number signs around our necks had to stand in front of cameras from every major national news organization and spell words that I could have sworn the announcers were making up on the spot : gobemouche , phaeochrous , exiguous . Many kids hemmed , hawed , begged , borrowed and stole time with requests for definitions , etymologies , sentence use . I just went for it . Machine ( duh ! ) . Ethos ( a word I shoehorn into conversation as frequently as possible ) . I think there 's another round I 'm still blocking out . And then : `` Phyllophorous . '' `` Could you repeat that ? '' `` Phyllophorous . '' `` Uh ... F-I-L ... '' Buzz . Incorrect . My head , now freed of its duties for the day , floated somewhere off into the middle distance , and I trudged off to the Crying Room where some well-meaning volunteers offered tissues , cookies and hugs to spellers whose dreams had been shattered . I opted for the cookie and went off to apologize to my dad , who 'd spent a goodly amount of his evenings on my training . That 's OK , he assured me . He was just excited that we 'd get to go to more museums . Did I want to hit the National Gallery now ? I 'd wanted to go to that museum for ages , but instead , I took my place in the audience and watched my friend Karla battle through several more rounds before butting up against , I believe the word was , `` dentifrice . '' She joined me in the ballroom , kibitzing at my side as speller 102 , Jon Pennington of Harrisburg , Pennsylvania , took home top honors for `` odontalgia '' - a fancy word for toothache . Karla grumbled that she totally could have gotten that one . I nodded in sympathy . Jon went on TV to visit David Letterman and spell against Johnny Carson , where I 'm happy to say , one of Doc Severinson 's bandmates spelled `` phyllophorous '' incorrectly . Jon got cash prizes and a place in the history books . I got a weird , funny friend who kind of understood me . And that was o-k-a-y with me .
Kat Kinsman went to the National Spelling Bee at age 13 in 1986 . Hide Caption 3 of 11 Photos Now she was with kids who lived for language play , lovely books , good grades . Kat did n't win trophy , but won a friend who kind of understood her .