[Racer26]

I can definitely relate to the views that FIRST has become somewhat of a drug.

I first learned of FIRST in the fall of 2002 whilst working on a Fibreglass Canada Goose project for our school library, when the teacher was co-mentoring our school's first FIRST team. I joined on the spot. That was in Grade 10.

In grade 11 we competed again, but in grade 12 (2005 season) due to lack of sponsorship, 1075 didn't compete.

I learned through the lead mentor (whom I've made good friends with over the years), that the team was back for 2006, and I elected to aid the team with the programming aspect of the game, as this was my primary area of expertise. In 2007 and 2008 I have been a very active member of the team, despite my being a now 3rd year university student.

FIRST is like a drug. For six weeks out of every year, the lead mentor (Mr. Smith) and I eat, sleep, and breathe everything robots. His family goes without their Dad for those six weeks, and they should be applauded just as much as he should. 1075 has always had notoriously bad support from the teachers in our school, so its basically just the one teacher, all the time.

Mr. Smith and I both are thoroughly addicted to the world that is FIRST. The challenges are many, and never stop challenging us to better our designs and develop a truly fantastic machine.

I have always been the kind of person that has to know how everything works. FIRST has taught me how to convert that knowledge into how to MAKE something that works. While I may not be the best at manufacture, I am quite capable of very functional designs. FIRST has done me a great service. Its also consumed the last 5 and a half years of my life.