[laurenlacy]

Why I joined? I honestly don't know. I think it was that I needed a cool extracurricular, I was unmotivated doing what I'd been doing, and I was interested in the business side of things.

Why I am still doing it, and hope to mentor etc in the future? Because it made me feel like I was someone more than the smart girl who didn't apply herself. It caught me at a good time. The team is a great group of guys and girls, and they showed me what could happen when you do apply yourself--suddenly I was in charge of getting thousands of dollars for the team, for sending thank you's to around 50 mentors and sponsors... there was something bigger than myself at play. I know you supposedly can get that from sports teams, but I wasn't in the sports I was playing. The sports I was playing gave all the glory to the team superstar... and I was just the kid who liked to get in there and play. In FIRST, the kid who likes to get in there and play is the superstar... because they are the people making the biggest difference.

Even better is that there is room for EVERYBODY to do something. I was the kid involved on the business side, but I was also able to get my hands dirty building the robot. The kid who likes making videos has a spot. The kid who loves to draw attention to herself has a spot. The kid who loves building computers on the weekends has a spot. The girl who likes to design all day has a spot. To be honest, many of the people I found loving the most were the kids I would really not have "discovered" on my own... they were the kids who I thought just sat at home and did math problems on the weekends, and suddenly I was finding out that they also had designed a board game for themselves and did other crazy fun things.

During my first build season, I was busier than I had ever been before. I was also happier than I had ever been, and my grades were up. I think it's because I wasn't afraid to ask questions anymore, or to feel stupid. I had never had BAD grades, I had just never had straight A's. I had a great relationship with my family, because we had dinner table conversation topics that everyone could participate in for the first time in years. I made great friends too... working on something for around 5 hours a day after school does that to you.

When I went to that first regional competition I can't even describe the feelings I had. I felt like I was USEFUL... a feeling that I had rarely before felt. I was busy, and at night, after games of truth or dare that got the team waaaaaaaay too comfortable with each other, the other two girls and I would talk until 2 in the morning... and then wake up at 6 the next morning to go compete. It was probably not the best idea, but on the plus side the team has great quotes from me being sleep deprived. It was so exciting to see something that had consumed my life for six weeks finally in action, and in retrospect, it really didn't matter that we were winning or losing, it was that I was finally excited about something.

Sorry this is so long winded... but I guess what I'm saying is that it's not why a girl joins so much as why a girl stays. I wish there was a way to get more girls involved... but I think if more girls share how amazing their experiences have been, it will happen.

-Lauren