The teams in the competition had their own unique approach to assessing each other's performance, even if they were struggling. Their confidence in their strategies worried me, as our team's approach seemed weaker in comparison. However, despite our small and seemingly weak robot, we managed to win game after game, giving us hope for the future.
As the final matches were played, a screen displayed the teams that would advance to the state competition. As we anxiously scanned the list, we were disappointed to find that our team did not make the top ten, or even the top fifteen. The disappointment was palpable among our group, and it was clear to our peers. However, this experience awakened something in me. I realized that our team's unofficial behavior and imperfect etiquette was not polished like the high schoolers we had seen earlier. But, this imperfection did not detract from the quality of our work.