Robotics

The other week it was club day.

This basically means that it's the day you go out onto the campus grounds, where a bunch of teens would be standing around carrying billboards and posters, which they use to harass you into joining their club.

So yeah, club day. 

Anyways, I go to the campus, and I realize that actually finding a club where I belong would be a bit more traumatizing than I thought.

For one, there are so many clubs to choose from.

Too many.

And I wanted to join all of them. 

The thing was, almost all the club meeting took place at lunch. Which means if you loved astronomy and art club on a Monday, you're just going to have to kiss one of them goodbye. 

After being pushed around and shoved and being handed too many flyers to join clubs, I finally chose three I wanted to experiment with: Red Cross, Robotics, and Habitat for Humanity. I mean, they sounded pretty ok and all. But what I was really concerned about was Robotics. 

Why you ask?

Mainly 'cause I didn't have any of my friends going. I begged them, but no avail. Also, (this may sound a little sexist) since this is robotics we're talking about, you can guess that only guys actually do robotics. And, as you'll see as you read on, this is (unfortunately) very true.

Today was the day of the first robotics meeting. 

I get there, so far, there's maybe a few boys sitting around at the computers (the meetings are held in a computer lab, by the way). So I'm just like, "Cool, whatever. I'm sure there's some girl who'll be daring enough to at least try coming to one meeting." 

A minute goes by. Two more guys come in.

Two minutes. More boys.

Five minutes.

Ten. 

Soon all the tables fill up, and I'm left as the only girl in the entire classroom.

I mean, it wasn't that bad, but considering I knew almost no one there, it was just awkward and silent.

They begin the meeting. 

So a bunch of guys stand up and start their presentation and, quite frankly, it was pretty interesting. Apparently, they design and build robots to perform in these competitions, which can be in both state and global levels. Then they take us to the back room, where it was pretty much just a workshop room, filled with power machines and drill bits and et cetera et cetera. Then they ask "any questions?" to the silence, and finally dismisses everyone from the room, promising they would email everyone about the next meeting.

I didn't realize how much breath I was holding in me until I left the room.

That meeting was waaaaaay out of my comfort zone.

But trespassing your comfort zone is how you improve yourself.

It's the only way you know how to control your life. 

Honestly, I'm sort of disappointed that more girls didn't show up. Not for my benefit, but for theirs. I mean, you don't know what your skill is until you try it. Maybe it is engineering. Maybe doctor. Maybe entrepreneur. Maybe a McDonald's worker. I don't know. But I think it's time that some of us stepped out of our comfort zone too, and experience new and unique things we otherwise would have experienced. It's high school, for crying out loud! The perfect age before it's too late and you're stuck taking care of four cats during your full-time job. Step up, and shape up!

Also, I'd really like a friend in robotics, so I guess it's for my benefit too.

Hehehe.