[princessnatalie]

FIRST is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

However, I was in the same boat as you last year, during my 2nd semester as a sophomore. I had a lot of other personal issues going on in my life and I had to make decisions as to what I could and couldn't handle. This is a big part of high school, and life, and I wish I could've learned my limits earlier, because my GPA suffered immensly because of time management, lack of motivation and personal issues.
As a junior, I know that school comes first, but I could personally never leave my team because of my grades. My parents and I decided that if my grades fall I can't be as involved in robotics, and for me that was enough motivation to keep my grades up.
FIRST has taught me so much more than anything I learned in the classroom. It taught me how to deal with people, how to build robots and (as cliche as it sounds) it taught me to be a better person. The thing with my team, is we are so close, we are family, and I have figured out so much about who I am because of FIRST.

In the end, grades come first. But for me, FIRST was too valuable to miss out on. If I wasnt on my team, I believe I would be struggling more with my grades and my life.