[galewind]

Rich, once again, excellent insights.

Additionally,

Remember, when you're frustrated that things aren't going well, think about how to fix them, not how you got there. Pointing fingers is never a way to solve a problem.

Your teammates are just as valuable to your team as you are -- just perhaps in a different way. Don't belittle another's contributions, and do your best to help them contribute!!

More important than having FUN in FIRST, is LEARNING -- about technology, about your teammates, about your team, and about yourself. FIRST can be a life-changing experience, opening many doors for people in places they never would have imagined. BUILD SEASON is where much of the transformation and learning takes place. As a result, you can typically see how learning IS fun!

As others said, the next six weeks WILL be stressful, WILL be challenging, and WILL be meaningful. If you are engaged in FIRST, you will never forget what you do over the next 4 months. You WILL learn that with planning, prototyping, and testing, you WILL be able to solve problems. You WILL learn what it means to be a valuable member of a team, and you WILL learn how people will depend on you, and how you need to depend on others.

Cheers and congratulations to you all -- you're about to go on yet another one of FIRST's wild rides.