[Kel D]

I guess the saying is true that you don't know what you have until it's gone. Now that my family moved, I came to the realization of how much I loved being a part of my team, the Firebirds, and how much I loved being a part of FIRST. FIRST is such an amazing program because not only do you get to work with engineers and build a robot, but you learn teamwork, you learn to go out there and make something happen like getting money form a sponsor and working with big companies. You learn to work with people who you have never met before and you learn to help people and get help from people you never met before. I don't think that throughout my entire FIRST experience I really encountered a mean person or someone who wasn't more than ready to help out with anything. Not many high school programs can say that. I have talked to people who say that they wish they did more in high school and they wish they got involved in more. But I am proud to say that I would not change my involvement at all in high school, only that I would have started with FIRST freshman year instead of sophomore year. All of my high school memories are from FIRST and my team. Being part of the Firebirds and FIRST was the best thing that could have heppened to me during high school. So I want to say thanks to all my friends and teammates and all our spectacular mentors and all FIRSTers for making high school bearable. GO FIREBIRDS!