I used to be obsessed with FIRST and it did carry me through a lot of interesting/eye-opening experiences in college. I especially enjoyed mentoring an all-girls rookie team in 2006. However, I believe it is healthy to leave FIRST at some point and carry on with a well-rounded life (family, fun, school, & work). Focus your creative energy on developing your skills as a professional; then, come back to FIRST as a mentor later down the line. For example, now that I've moved on from FIRST, I have plenty of time to focus my energy on my masters thesis, robotics research, and new assistive technologies that could be commercialized at some point. You can find the same excitement you get from FIRST out in the real world, and guess what.. the real world actually $PAYS
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