U.I.L. events seem to be the place where nerds upon nerds gather for some geek convention. I, personally, don’t take offense to the word “nerd,” for I am a boggling mind who participates in academic events. However, “non-nerds” quabble over what certain activities dorks seem to find interesting.
As the day progresses and ride homes disintegrate, childish play shines bright in over-active minds. Everyone isn’t the same glasses wearing, suspender rocking, braces smiling wierdo at a meet. We all have our own differences and unique style, but one thing that connects us is the ability to be good at what we do in academics. However, a large amount of free-time is given to us in between events.
Some ask if we bury our noses in thick, calculus books….occasionally. Others think that geeks are the feisty ones, so we host massive raves and throw our #2 pencils in the air like we just don’t care! Well, I can assure you, we are just short from partying with glow-sticks.
Last Saturday, U.I.L.-ers “lived it up” in a most dramatic way. With boredom at it’s peak, teenagers usually can’t handle the crowded space and lack of music. The great minds of McCollum High School decided to bring some entertainment to this massive group of competitors from 41 schools.
It began with improv! Kids danced with feathery boas, fought with yellow elephants, cried into Mad-Hatter hats, and all laughed with the embarrassment of outgoing theatrics.
Of course, intermission was awarded as more people gathered to view the upcoming excitement. Sweaty boys ran to grab sodas and candy from the concessions, and giggly girls huddled with friends, gossiping over that “cute boy who just did that one thing with that one theatre kid.” We teenagers are sooooo descriptive… As I was saying, the hustle and bustle of daily drama provided smooth entertainment for jittery children.
Next up was Musical Mime. Hooray for lip-syncers who dance around with no worries in the world! I was able to participate in such a wondrous fiasco. In fact, Marissa Hunt, Daniel de la Rosa, and myself had the pleasure of performing “Baby” by Justin Bieber first.
We began with a slow, melodious “Ooooooh,” while breaking out into some wild dance moves that adrenaline provided us with. Next was the fun part; We ran around, shouting Bieber lyrics in front of 50 or so students, who just happened to scowl as J.B. busted out his angelic voice. Then, I began to get down with Ludacris, as my arms waved in a side ways motion towards the bellowing laughter exploding from my audience.
As the song slowed to an end, a roar of applause crackled into our Brahma Trio’s ears. We, three teenagers who don’t even LIKE Justin Bieber, had just done something most teenagers wouldn’t dare to do: subject ourselves to Bieber Fever. It was completely worth losing all my pride and intergrity over.
So, next time you jester about nerds gathering together, don’t get mad when you miss something extraordinary….
Because after all, extraordinary people do extraordinary things.
nerd is the word.