[Amanda Morrison]

Well, as much as I would have liked to be at nats this year, I'm glad I got the whole experience of a new team and all that jazz.

There's just a couple things I missed -

I missed standing up and clapping for my team's mentors... after this past year, I think I appreciate everything that they did for my team a little bit more.

I missed Dean's speech... and with this year as an exception, I plan to never go another year without a hug from him.

I missed Andy winning Woodie Flowers... I would have given anything to see that.

Most of all, I missed being around the youth of the competition and feeling the enthusiasm and spirit of the program... I think Dean said it best when he described the feeling of being around these students and having their inspiration really give you a 'boost'.