Personally, when I look at everything I've gained from FIRST robotics, I can't think of anything I've had to give up for it. I mean sure, I've had to skip out of Glee Club and play rehearsals, but trust me, that's a good thing when you have my school's music director. I've given up time when I could be studying or doing homework, but hey, which one would you choose? And I always get by without struggling. I gave up being in the drama club last year, class time, lunch time, afternoons, and plenty of other stuff. But I love doing it, so it doesn't even seem like giving anything up. To me, it's a gift to be able to go down to the basement and drive the robot around instead of sitting in a cold chair and singing some new song for a concert. It's absolutely worth every speck of time and effort I put into it, and that's why I love it. At the end of the season, I don't breathe a sigh of relief to have time for myself again, but wonder what I'm going to do without being able to vent all my anger out through an unfortunate piece of wood and the power drill.
