[theawesome1730]

Sperkowsky,

My rookie year seems to have paralleled yours in many ways. Being the naïve freshman that I was, liked to brag, I wanted to tell others off, I came very close to revealing a robot feature my team wasn't prepared to release, thought it was acceptable to post my incorrect interpretation of rules as fact etc. One amusing instance is when a team asked how to power a 18v 775 at 18 volts, without thinking I simply just said that nothing could exceed 12 volts on the robot so it wasn't necessary. Of course that isn't the case, but younger me didn't think checking was important. Basically I earned a negative rep (just how much you may ask? enough that after 300+ posts, I still have a single dot) and a teammate had to set me straight. I was very appreciative of this and have tried to be a good spokesperson for the team since. I'm sure I still make mistakes, but I'm only human.

As far as being a student on CD, I don't think it's all that bad. Students have to be open to criticism. Mentors on CD serve the exact same purpose here as they do in life: to teach, be it robots or social. Many mentors joined CD well after having made some of the same mistakes we do, the difference is that they've learned from them so they know what not to do now. Everyone has to learn at some point and sometimes it ends up being humiliating. (I'd imagine people learn quicker the more awkward it feels) A good rule to follow in discussions is "would I say this to a judge/mother/grandma?" if you answer yes, you can likely be safe. Sure, there will still be critics, but that's a given. If answering no, strongly reconsider. Take a few minutes to consider what you want to say and how it will be taken when you say it. Use that preview post button! 9/10 times I have to fix something. (Including this one) ((2 times.)) (((and still had to go back and make an edit)))