For all of you who know me, you know that science is my life.
And for the past year or two, I have revolved everything around my Robotics Team. From starting it with Elaine in '05 to entering the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, heck, Robotics has begun to define me. It's changed my perspective on what I want to pursue in college (Bioengeering/Biomechanical Engineering @ Berkeley or Stanford *crosses fingers*), and has exposed me to various aspects of the engineering and working field.
So for the past year or so, with a combined effort between mentors, the team, and Leland Quixilver 604 ("like, the best team ever!"), rookie team Presentation Invasion 2135 managed to make a moving, functional 'bot. Not the best 'bot, but hey, it moves. Which is all that really matters. Well, kind of.
So, what was the end result of our hard work, sweat, blood, and tears?
At the Silicon Valley Regional, we ended up winning the Rookie Inspiration Award. Think of it as 2nd Place rookie team, "Most Improved", call it whatever you want. It's an award.
" 5.16 ROOKIE INSPIRATION AWARD
This award celebrates a rookie team’s outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering and engineers both within their school, as well as in their community. It is the 2nd highest honor FIRST bestows to a rookie team."
"Wow, Arille. You must be proud of your team. Good job! 2nd place, not bad!" you say.
Yes, I am glad that we won an award. A certain someone was able to make aware to me the fact that most teams returned home empty-handed. True. And as bitter as I may seem when you see me, I am grateful. Deep down there, I'm grateful.
So why do I still seem somewhat "bitter"?
I do not think we played to our full potential. Enough said.
But other than that, I just realized how much FUN the competition really was. I'll admit, Thursday was hell for me because I, with Amanda, had to correct all of our wiring and had to switch in appropriate terminals for the whole morning/mid-afternoon, but after that, it was fun. Really, really fun.
Robotics competition, fun?
Well, for most, I suppose. In order to appreciate the whole competition I suppose you might need to have somewhat of an interest in technology/engineering, but even if you don't, it's one helluva game to watch. Robots almost tipping over, alliances winning by a mere 2 points, watching the 'bots attempt to climb up the ramp in the last 5 seconds .. hell yeah, this game was intense.
Another aspect I love about FIRST are its people and the environment of the competition. Teams helping out teams by supplying materials and insight, teams cheering one another in the quarterfinal matches ... wow, what a feeling.
I loved meeting a whole bunch of people, "bonding" (I guess you can call it that?) with 604, and that whole "gracious professionalism" vibe. Corny, lame. But true.
The competition was a wonderful experience, and I am definitely going to do it all over again next year. (Now there's that whole issue of doing it with Pres again, but that's a whole 'nother story that will need to be a whole new post in itself).
P.S. We didn't qualify for Nationals (#1 Rookie team goes, even though they aren't really "rookies" anymore .. long story). For those on my team, you've probably heard me cry out to you guys during build season: "Guys, I really really really wanna go to Atlanta (Nationals)." But you know what, that's fine. I definitely know that there are areas in the team that need correction, and hopefully when we get everything straight, next year we can go. Next year (my last year...) we're going to FIRST Nationals. Next year. Next year! NEXT YEAR!
P.P.S. Congrats to Leland again for winning Chairman's award. I cannot even begin to enumerate the reasons on how much of a great group of students/mentors/friends you guys are. You deserve everything! Good luck at Nationals, I'll be cheering you on from back home. (I'm your #1 fan, I swear.)