Quote:
Originally posted by Steve W
You may not see FIRST as others do. I personally find it as a refreshing change to the real world. If everyone that was involved this year takes just a bit of what FIRST is about with them, then change has begun.Every swimming pool is empty untill you add the "FIRST" drop. Slowly but surely that pool will fill up. After reading the above posts I can see passion still lives. Continue on your path with your head held high. Yes people will try and bring you into their line of thinking. Anything worth while will take a lot of effort to stay on course. But in the long run you will be rewarded with the knowledge that you stayed the course. Again I have been encouraged by your thoughts and ideas. Keep it coming.
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One thing I learned is that with a group of people, the group is always trying to do "what's best for the group" at the moment. It is the individuals who can take the initiative to change the world. It is the individual who can decide they think the world is very wrong, and should do something to make it different.
I was talking to my mentor Ken Krieger about this, and he said "I can only do what I know how to do. And that is to affect one person at a time." As individuals, we all have limitations of our own. But even if you can affect one person at a time, and another, and another, then eventually they will affect people who cross their path, and you are spreading your ideas to lots and lots of people. Some of them might cross path with each other and your effect on them might amplify. It's kind of like sound waves spread out, and when the waves interfere each other, sometimes you get constructive inference that increase the magnitude of the wave.
I can still see the effect FIRST has on students, though. FIRST didn't change their view of the culture right away, but it did succeed in getting them into college. See, every time someone decide they want to go to college instead of staying around with their family business, FIRST succeeded in opening someone's mind. Sure, it's happening slowly, with one student at a time. But we are getting to the point where the first wave of college students are graduating college, and coming back into the program contributing bigger than ever. Within a few years, more and more FIRST college graduates will be coming back; with 4+ years of experiences armed behind them ready to jump start this program into the next level. How is FIRST going to handle that...? I will let FIRST worries about that.
Mean while, I am going to put all my energy in WRRF, and help it expand its program, and hopefully reach out to more people who understand what FIRST is all about. The amazing thing is, over here, FIRST brought a bunch of us together who wouldn't have known each other otherwise. Now, we are setting up WRRF as a non-profit, applying for grants and ready to set up jobs for people. FIRST didn't tell us we have to do this. But, FIRST did gave us a opportunity to meet the much of folks out there who think like us. If anything the networking value of the competition is great!