Has Being In FIRST Made You More Brave - More Confident?

[artdutra04]

Long story short, definitely yes.

[Ben Martin]

I have enjoyed reading your posts. I am sure that FIRST has benefited you all in tremendous ways. However, my own experience is a little different.

I have been a member of team 234 for three years now. When I first applied for the team, I wanted to join for three reasons: I had a few friends on the team, I was somewhat interested in engineering, and I wanted to build a cool robot. As I worked. By the end of my first year, I was sure I wanted to be an engineer. I had had so much fun during the build season, and I really wanted to be a part of the team for another three years.

As I moved into my second year, however, I began to develop my own opinions. I wanted to voice them, but I was afraid to. We had a lot of very opinionated seniors on the team at the time, and I was afraid of posing an idea that they wouldn't appreciate. I just worked harder than I ever had before, and I made it through our team interviews to join the team for another year.

Before I joined robotics, I was a part of both the Boy Scouts and my high school orchestra. During these two years, I became a much better cello player, and I was elected as the Senior Patrol Leader of my troop. I credit these two activities for making me "come out." As I became more confident in playing the cello, I became more confident in my speaking skills as well. Through Boy Scouts, my leadership skills vastly improved. I now find myself playing the leadership role in almost every school group project.

As I moved into the build season this year, I became more vocal than I had ever been before. Nearly every activity had a little bit of my input. I let the lead mentors know my feelings, and sometimes they agreed with me. Sometimes they didn't. Robotics gave me an opportunity to use these new skills, but I don't feel that it developed them.

As I move into interviews this year again, I hope that I will once again make the team. Over this past year, I have found that engineering is just not the skill that I am best at. I don't know what I want to do in college anymore. However, I do have a few ideas that could improve the team. It's no longer about building a robot for me, or preparing for college, or even friends. Most of my friends are seniors this year. Instead, it's about providing guidance and teaching what I have learned.

FIRST may bring out the speaker in some, but it didn't in me. Instead, it allowed me to use speaking and leadership skills. FIRST can greatly influence a person, but it is not the only program that can. At least for me, I wish to be a part of many activities, that way I can learn and be influenced by each of them. FIRST can develop a person, but it's not the only organization that can.

[Cartwright]

Originally Posted by MGoelz

In addition to this, I was thinking: Well, I have only been on this team a year. And even at the beginning of this year, when I had my interview to be on the team, I was very comfortable speaking to the mentors in the room. I was a little nervous, because I didn't really know what to expect, but other than that, I was fine. I feel like there are so many options out there for me right now. It is really cool, actually, to think that a single program can be the basis for an amazingly positive outlook on life in general. That really has increased my self-confidence.

I think something else that has contributed to all of this, is that I was on a VEX team in eighth grade, before coming to the high school. I already kind of experienced some of this, but I wasn't really able to process all of the information being thrown at me.

I am also more self-confident because I think that FIRST provides an atmosphere that makes you feel like you are important. I know that what I contribute to the team is valuable, equally so as everyone else. I know that it takes not only what I do, but what everybody else does to keep the team going. It provides many leadership opportunities, and it has helped me to become a better speaker. I am not nervous at all to stand in front of a bunch of classmates I have known for years and give a speech; that fear was broken as soon as I was sent out to be the representative for our team during alliance selection. There is nothing more intimidating than knowing that the fate of your team lies in your hands (for that competition, at least ).

Like Miranda, I thought the interviews for our team were a bit nerveracking until I actually got in there. It immediately made my confidence fly. Later these interviews would help me prepare for other interview-type situations at school.

In addition, just being a part of the team had built up my confidence in many ways. During our brainstorming sessions, I think that a freshman only spoke up once. Part of this was because of our lack of experience (even with a year of VEX behind us), but after this season, I feel like I'm ready to go tell all my thoughts on the type of robot we should create next season.

Although, I have always been a pretty good public speaker in class, I definitely think that FIRST has changed the way I do a speech. For example, in a question and answer situation, being able to think quickly and critically has been greatly aided through robotics. Having to work accurately quickly definitely has its benefits.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Cartwright

FIRST has changed the way I do a speech. For example, in a question and answer situation, being able to think quickly and critically has been greatly aided through robotics. Having to work accurately quickly definitely has its benefits.

This and other comments have made me think of the word, temper.
1. to soften or make less harsh, as a potter tempers clay; justice is tempered when combined with mercy
2. to moderate or control by reducing, tempering one's joy
3. to change in consistency or texture; to make hard, tough - steel and glass are tempered in various ways

It's a nice word.

sidenote: This was taken from my 8th grade dictionary that I keep by my computer. I wrote Beatle stuff all over it. It is the only book I ever wrote/scribbled on. I can see Paul, Ringo, George, and John from where I sit, big letters.

[Éowyn]

Yes.

[Dreadfrost]

I always agree with Dean Kamen's idea that FIRST truly is one of the greatest programs out there for us. This is one of the reasons why its so great. At first when i joined this year i didnt know much and intimidated by the idea of building the robot but I completely learned along the was. I was asked to work on the Chairmans essay and helped do it with everything being fine and then found out there a whole seperate presentation (which i think really is the more important part) which took huges hours of work since we only had like a week. Then we won Chairmans in Waterloo Regional and it all seemed worth it. It was a pain to do but realising all the confidence in myself and the team i have gained and the change in my work ethic, made me KNOW now and not just think FIRST is the best.

[JoeXIII'007]

To answer the forum question: Absolutely yes.

Not only in myself, but I have seen FIRST build up bravery and confidence in past team leaders and alumni alike, to the point where I look up to some of those people to this day, at least to the way they did their work.

As far as I am concerned, I have gotten braver at being critical of what other people think, demand, and do, to the point where I want to question the coach or another team leader until some form of compromise, either in thought or action is made. Sometimes, if not most of the time I end up being on the fool's end of the argument at that moment, but I get better at my 'debating' skills every time. I am pretty confident about that, and I am confident that eventually, I'll be in the middle, making compromises (not on the ultra-confident end of things where it gets shaky).

Bravery has not only improved there, but also in public. Every time our team goes some place we get told these stories of thieves, peddlers, etc. That shooting in Atlanta during the champ event at the park was definitely a scary thought. But I look at it this way: no one can control what crimes of the day will happen, but we can be smart about how we travel in the urban landscape so that they are avoided. Striking fear (either directly, indirectly, or not intentionally indirectly) is just pointless, if not just increasing the danger because it disturbs a persons thinking and awareness and ability to act properly in a possibly dangerous situation. Finding a way to let sensible and good human intuition drive how the team is lead through a city, college campus, etc. is just plain better. Bravery grows this way, at least that is how I see it.

Confidence:
-Real time: increases the most
-In what I am doing: increases
-In 'generally' where I am going (something computer science related): increases
-In 'exactly' where I am going: stays put... so much seen at any competition event, just opens my mind all the time, and horizons just expand. Its fun.

I'm done... that's my 2 cents.

[vivek16]

absolutely, it has made me more social, more eager to challenge myself, smarter, more rational, and more mature. I cant believe that such a program can exist. It is like heaven only better.

[Taylor]

It's funny to me how many mentors answered this question. While FIRST is (or should be) primarily focused on the HS students, all can learn from the lessons.
I feel more confident as a teacher, with the knowledge and mechanical reasoning robotics has provided me. As far as GP, I've always had that idea, but not worded quite so eloquently as the New Hampshirites (?) have it.

ps In that dictionary, does it have a definition for "crabalocker fishwife" - ?

[Zyik]

Yes, a great deal. Theres the short answer. If you want the long answer continue reading.

I was once a very shy, introverted kid. I didn't talk much, I fought a lot. I constantly had my nose in a book or a computer. In Jr. High I found the schools robotics team, FLL. I knew almost no one there. I was the only person who was willing to figure out the programing for the robot, everyone else wanted to play with the legos. The year I was on the team, our robot did pretty bad. We placed pretty low, not even above the half way mark. However, sitting around watching the award ceremonies, we were called up for a 1st place award. Robust Programming. The award allowed my team to head to the State Competition. I was ecstatic. I was the only one who had touched this area of the robot, so I really felt like it was 'my' award. This did more for my self esteem then anything else could have.

The next year I advanced to High School, and joined the FRC team. The mentor had been told who I was from FLL, and for the first time in my life I was greeted as someone who knew what they were doing, not as a freshman. This was also a healthy dose of self esteem for one who started out with none. That year I was able to learn about a new kind of programming. The job I assigned myself after build season was strategy, a job I still hold. At the time, I had no idea what this entailed. I was also the only scout. 973 attended Championships my freshman year. I had to scout over one hundred teams, by myself. That was an experience in and of itself.

Scouting was an experience that taught me how to talk to other people, and that has helped me out a lot in life. Not only has this taught me how to present projects to other people, it has also shown me how to ask a lot of questions.

Because of FIRST, I have become a more confident able person. Without it, I would still be the very shy introvert that I was. Granted, at times I still become that all over again, but most of the time I am able to use what FIRST has taught me.

[crafty]

Yes. My parents made me join our team last year, because I was such an introvert. At first, I didn't really talk to other people at our meetings. I took control of whatever project I worked on and wouldn't let anyone help me. The more that I was forced to work with others, the more I liked being a team player, and I became more outspoken. I am love speaking in front of people now, and I'm not really shy anymore.