Everyone's Ideas Count

Our FTC team, the Loonatechs, is a rookie team composed of eighth graders. None of us have ever been involved in any FIRST team. So, we didn't know what all of our roles would be. We didn't know what we were doing either....but that's another story. 

I believe that in the beginning, figuring out everything was the hardest part of the whole season. For a long time everyone was trying to do everything because we didn't have a specific role on the team. And it took an especially long time to brainstorm because we all thought our own ideas were better than everyone else's. Eventually we had to build something and tried to compromise. But still not everyone was happy. The main problem was not everyone's ideas were considered and we still hadn't figured out how everyone's strengths could be used for the good of the team. 

Luckily there were two high school teams that helped us learn how to do everything. As they taught us, we began to figure out what are strengths were to help the team. We still disagreed on the design of the robot, but as we took on our own roles, we were able to compromise more and add to it. We began to realize more that it didn't matter whose idea it was, but more importantly that it was for the good of the team. 

One quote that we believe describes our team (and any team really) we found on a fortune cookie:
 
"Do not give up, the beginning is always the hardest." -  Kemmy Nola 

We love this quote because the beginning was really hard, but once you get through it your stronger.  Just like on a rainy day after the rain stops, comes a rainbow.  This is a lesson we learned, that everyone's ideas count.

This blog was written by FTC team 9575, the Loonatechs. If you are interested in blogging - sign up on the schedule.

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