[LauraN]

What? Obsession? What?? *looks around wildly*

"Over-dedicated" is a relative term. =)

Personally, I talk about FIRST all the time. This is mostly because our team is going through some rough stuff at the moment, and there are a lot of problems whose solutions aren't going to find themselves. Often I hear people tell me, "Geez, you and Kristi talk about FIRST way too much."

I don't think that's necessarily true. I think some people are much more passionate about certain things than others. Is it bad to be "over-dedicated" to the football team? I see being over-dedicated as having a negative connotation. You can be as dedicated as you want, but when you start calling it "over"-dedication is when you have a problem. On that note, I think it's bad to be over-dedicated to school.

Don't get mad just yet! It IS important to do well in school, but it's also important to see the sun every once in awhile. I think the key is balance. If there are other things in your life, you should be fine. Personally I'm a very...intense person. Yes I may be a little obsessed with FIRST, but I'm also a little obsessed with lots of other things (like sports and my youth group.)

I think it's great to see people truly dedicated to FIRST. Or to anything for that matter. I think it's great to see students who normally aren't excited about school be excited about robotics. Do they still need to do well in school? Of course. But there's nothing wrong with having some passion every now and then.