[ZeroGAdam]

My first FIRST event was back in 2002 at what was then called J&J Mid Atlantic Regional, which turned into the NJ regional 2 years later. I was only 6 years old at the time and had no prior knowledge to anything related with the program. One day, my dad had talked to a few people at work(Bristol-Myers Squibb) and they talked about this robotics competition which the company sponsored. My dad was really interested in it, and found out how to get involved and mentor a team. Luckily, there was a team in our area, so he got heavily involved. TV shows that I was obsessed with around the time were Battlebots and Robot Wars, so I was thrilled when I heard my dad say something about "robots." Long story short, he'd bring me along to all of the meetings and competitions, and as I became older with the team, I began to understand more and more. We looked for an FLL team in our area, and there were none offered in my school, until about 6th grade, and then I got into the program officially. This exposure led me to go through all three levels of the program, and it also provided a full time hobby and passion for me since I could and still can't be involved with any sports due to a orthopedic condition(completely different story). Sorry to bore you all with these offtopic details, but I thought it was a better way to explain how I was involved at such a young age.
Anyway, that first event was absolutely incredible to me (even though the game was a little bland). I just enjoyed the music, the dancing, and the coolest part, these real live machines doing incredible things. It's something that I'll never forget...