[Kristina]

Well instead of studying for my art history final I decided to read this entire thread (wow that was long) and send a few PMs here and there and maybe I'll feel resolved once I post so I can go back to work.

I definitely do not think there is a downward spiral of loss of gracious professionalism among first times. If you think about it, FIRST almost puts students in a corporation setting where we fundraise, think up ideas, design, build, compete, and so much more. Even adults have a really hard doing all of this without conflict. Now we have teenagers who already have a hard enough time coping with the drama of high school, friends, getting into college, hormones, etc etc. Yet, we still manage to cope and work with a team on a goal. I really don't think we give ourselves enough credit or appreciate how fortunate we are. It's definitely a mixed blessing having to grow up faster when we are faced with dilemmas but think about how good it is in the long run. Before we even enter into the workforce we'll know better communication, leadership, and teamwork skills because of FIRST if we keep the right attitude.

There lies the little fact in our society that we tend to harp on the negative. Look at the news, all we see are the horrible things going on instead of all of the accomplishments. Therefore, simply because we only hear about the times when people did not exude gracious professionalism does not mean that it is the dominating attitude around the country. My own personal mantra when I was dealing with hardships has always been focus on the positive but don't forget to learn from the negative and then move on.

I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason so I think that not only can the people involved in 810 can a learn a lot from this thread but we can all get a perspective check too.