There have been a few various times over the past year where a lot was on the line. I had one shot at accomplishing something and if I failed, I more often than not wouldn’t get another chance. Making the full team roster this year for FRC Team Neutrino was one such situation. Rosters are announced right before school starts, which means that summer participation and engagement are crucial to being selected.
Last summer, I let Neutrino slide a bit because I was so busy with other things, and I paid the price for my failure to balance everything properly by not making the team. I was still able to be engaged over the previous school year due to fortunate circumstances, but I knew that this same opportunity would probably not be available again, meaning that if I didn’t make the team this time, I would have to be done. My high school journey with FRC would be over.
As my junior year was wrapping up, I turned my attention to the summer that was starting and all of the various things that I needed to do, including Neutrino. Even though I was eventually able to get my calendar in order unlike the previous year, at times with no small effort, I was unsure whether any of what I was doing would amount to anything. I was certainly doing everything that I could and everything that I expected of myself, but the threshold of when enough is truly enough was invisible to me. I realized early on that there was a very real possibility that no matter what I did, I wouldn’t be able to succeed to the level that I had set out for myself.
Slowly but surely, the summer continued. For the most part schedule wise, things worked out. I was surprised by this result. I was able to participate and lead the activities that I was expected to without much of a hitch. Soon, July came, and then August. By the end of the summer, I had managed to accomplish pretty much everything that I went into the summer hoping I would be able to do and then some as well. There ended up being a fairly involved project that I spearheaded that turned out much better than I ever could have hoped for.
Despite all of this, I knew that there still was a chance that I wouldn’t make the team. I realized however, that I could accept that outcome. I contributed everything that I could up to that point, and I learned so much and had a lot of fun as a result. Even if I didn’t make the team, the time and effort that was spent on my part would be far from wasted. I would still be able to benefit from the experience because it offered things beyond just the ability to make the team that I took advantage of to the highest degree.
Team rosters were announced August 15th this year, and remarkably, I made the team. I was delighted that my journey in FRC wouldn’t be over just yet. This experience served as a testament and powerful reminder that extrinsic success or failure doesn’t necessarily define whether any situation was well worth the effort. What matters is the learning and growth that happened because of it. It’s nice to succeed. It really is, and I’ve never gone into a situation hoping for anything else, but I am imperfect, and that is the way that life must be lived.