Passion for FIRST

[Jherbie53]

I have a passion for FIRST robotics. I know there are a lot of you that are just the same way. You keep coming back, maybe not with the same team, but you can’t escape it, nor do you want to. You get into it in high school, or you started mentoring and love passing on the knowledge you know to the students on your team, you just love it. Whether you come back and learn how to mentor with your team (like me), or are trying to start a new team around your college or job, or becoming a volunteer or Ref for a regional, or continue to mentor with your team. You just have to be around it some way or another.

You start thinking about it all the time. Then you start counting the days to January for Kickoff, right after the Championship competition, (right now I have a counter going on my computer for just that) or you check Chief Delphi 3-4 times a day, in the middle of July! You start thinking about the ideas that you want to share with your team at your first meeting in the fall. Some might be what you can do differently building the robot to get it done faster, or how you can market your team and FIRST to sponsors and the community around you. Ideas keep popping into your head, even when you sleep.

By the time you’re doing these things you’re practically eating, sleeping, working, and living FIRST. I know there are times when it the last thing on your mind, but it only takes passing a construction site or seeing something on TV that catches your eye, and you’re already thinking “How does that work? We might use that next year on the robot.” It keeps you coming back, I know. I’ve even scheduled my classes in college so I could be at my teams meetings. I even did it this next semester to help with a Lego team where sponsoring again. Don’t even try and deny it if you’ve done it to, there are people that will rat you out.

There are also people out there that aren’t as passionate as me. They do love being a part of it in high school; but once they graduate from high school, they go their separate way. Usually they go to college for something other than a technology degree, unlike us FIRST lifers. That is perfectly ok with me. They probably won’t forget their experience in FIRST, which is why they might come back to it in the future.

To sum it up, FIRST is just one of my passions in life. It’s not always my top one, but it’s very close. This is something I felt like sharing. I can’t wait until our next meeting. BOB needs a tune up for the Kettering Kickoff!

[Tottanka]

I know tly what you mean.
This feeling is exactly what made me organize the off season event in Israel.

FIRST is fun, its good and its for a better future, we should all be proud of ourselves and our teams...

[Bomberofdoom]

Gosh, you just described me exactly and prefectly, and i'm not kidding!

[Deacon Blues]

I'm not so much into the building and announcements as the whole group aspect. As awesome as it was to see the team into the final rounds our first year, seeing our logistics guy freaking out in the middle of a crab house in Annapolis and creating a series of hand signs to denote a lady friend will always stand out more. I mean, all the awesome things I remember about FIRST have to do with the people involved and not so much the actual engineering aspect.

Then again, that might have a lot to do with my PR position and lack of engineering knowledge. I'm sure if I had some idea what the fifty different types of transmissions we discuss were I would be a lot more interested in them.

[DonRotolo]

Yes, but...

Please remember that one needs to remain well-rounded*, and does not participate in one activity to the exclusion of other normal, accepted, social or necessary activities**.

Don

*Not as in spherically-shaped, e.g. from too much pizza & dew
** Such as homework, family, basic sanitation, fun, etc...

[Tottanka]

Originally Posted by Don Rotolo

Yes, but...

Please remember that one needs to remain well-rounded*, and does not participate in one activity to the exclusion of other normal, accepted, social or necessary activities**.

Don

*Not as in spherically-shaped, e.g. from too much pizza & dew
** Such as homework, family, basic sanitation, fun, etc...

I knew i forgot something there...

[JoeXIII'007]

I went to one of my team's Wal-Mart Fundraisers yesterday, and when one of the members arrived, he looked at me and said "I thought you graduated?"

I responded, "Yes I did, but now I am a mentor."

However, I have to confess, I have had a major temptation to just leave the team and move on with my life, but I constantly think to myself in return, "If you do that, you won't be looked highly upon by those you left, if not talked about in not a good way."

I have been around FIRST since Fall of 2001 when I joined Lego League at Middle School, still remember the day my older sister called to say they won nationals in the static of screaming people, still talk to members from that great day, and they are some of the greatest people I know.

And though the team has changed significantly, and so have times, I love my team, and more importantly, I love FIRST, and even more so important, I live with a belief system that says this is worth spending time as a volunteer mentor with.

I just have to remind myself, "Just wait for the parties and celebrations *cough*... I mean competitions in March and April, and you'll be reminded of why your in this gig."

[indieFan]

Originally Posted by JoeXIII'007

However, I have to confess, I have had a major temptation to just leave the team and move on with my life, but I constantly think to myself in return, "If you do that, you won't be looked highly upon by those you left, if not talked about in not a good way."

If you're in this because you're worried about your reputation, then you're in it for the wrong reasons. As a mentor, you should be: 1) Enjoying what you're doing (i.e., teaching others) or 2) Giving something to the students that you may not realize, but others tell you about (i.e., your mere presence inspires the kids).

I believe that since you have been in FIRST since Lego League, it would only be natural that you would want to explore other options available to you now that you've graduated from high school. Take a year off. Simply go in and tell the team that, as much as you enjoy working with them, you need to try new things. They'll understand. (And, if they don't, then something is not right with the team.)

Live your life doing the things you want, not the things that you believe are expected of you.

indieFan

P.S.- Still burned out from this past competition season.

[Erin Rapacki]

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 .

[Wetzel]

Don't forget to smell the roses. While FIRST is fun and a great experience, there is more to life than just FIRST. I used to spend all day refreshing CD, but have moved on to other things. For the rest of college, I plan to 'only' volunteer at a regional level. This allows me to support the mission of FIRST in a way which I think is best for me and FIRST. I also know that FIRST is supportive of this decision as it allows me to best grow and succeed.


Wetzel
PS: The refs are volunteers too.

[ctorloey]

Hi All!

I just want to say that the rack 'n roll was my first year with FIRST! It was the best thing I ever did.

The thing was is that during the year I wanted to do so much more for the team. If hardly saw any one not in robotics. I spent all my time there. After the getting back from the WPI Battle Cry, I had to join up here to get more and more FIRST! Half way through the summer I found my teams programming mentor and he got me started with simple programming projects. I cant wait for the fall meetings and see what the actual robot code looks like instead of just the computer programs.

I cant wait to learn more when we get to start up again!

All in all, My passion for FIRST is almost number 1! Friends and family comes first, science class class is up there too( science is a big part of building robots), and starting cross country/track might get up there too.

I just know in three years, FIRST Robotics wont stop with the end of high school. I will find a team to mentor, in college and dont think I could ever pull away from FIRST.

OnCe YoU jOiN, yOu CaN nEvEr QuIt RoBoTiCs!