[Katy]

Please take a good look in the mirror before mentoring. Assess your motivations. Ask yourself "does a team need me or do I need a team?"

During highschool FIRST was, in many cases, basically our lives. You have many wonderful memories of your highschool team and that is as it should be. FIRST is designed for high school students. When you are in high school FIRST is all about you: your experiences, your inspirations, your team, your team's accomplishments. That doesn't mean you're selfish, it is how the program works.

When you become a mentor FIRST is not about you anymore. You are not a team captain with extra privileges. You are a professional adult attempting to share your experiences with the next generation of FIRST. You are, willingly or not, a role model. The program is not designed to give you anything except the joy of watching your students grow as individuals.

Becoming a mentor in order to maintain your highschool lifestyle of FIRST is an incredibly selfish and damaging thing for you to do. Refusing to adapt to your life is bad for you. This behavior is also not good for your students because you are being a bad example. Instead of being inspired by FIRST you are behaving as if you were addicted to it.

If you have any illusions that participating as a college mentor will be the same experience as being a team member I'd advise you take a year off for your own good. Get to know yourself. Learn to stand on your own two feet before you try to carry others.

In short the decision to become a mentor or not is not about what you want. It is about what is best for the team you will be mentoring.