[MysterE]

My first FIRST competition was the Bayou Regional of 2011. Let me quickly build up to it. In 2011 I was hired as a second year Language Arts middle school teacher to teach High School level Social Studies. When the hiring principal found out that I was pretty good with computers, he said the most fateful words I had heard since "It's a girl." "You can help with our robotics team"

He did not know, then, that the old teacher was not going to be running the team for a second year. I became a robotics coach. Of a FRC team. After almost not raising the funds to compete, learning what build season meant, working harder than I ever had in my life... I was going to quit.

It was just too hard. And then we won the regional. And then we raised 25k in three weeks to go to World Championship. And then I met freakin Morgan Freeman.

Yeah... That was my first time with FIRST.

And now... Well. . . Who needs sleep, relaxation, sanity, family, gaming time, grading time . . . I'm designing robots here darn it. I'll be normal later.