Dear Edgar,
Hey! How are these days? I haven’t seen you since the alumni reunion last month.
Do you remember that back then when we were in Primary Four, we promised each other that one day we’d go to another country and show to the world that we were capable? (You know, that day when we were scolded by Ms. Chan, that time when she said we were useless.) Well, I have kept that promise. I am going to Australia in July.
I participated in a competition called FLL–First Lego League in February. It was literally an incredibly amazing experience.
FLL is an annual competition. It’s a robotics competition. I took part in the Hong Kong representative election competition. We won. Yet, the award is not the most important thing. The thing that I value the most is the bond between me and my teammates.
Now, I know you’d say I’m not that guy who talks about cheesy friendships, I know. But it’s just, it’s like, ugh! It’s true!
We’d prepare for the competition since the summer holiday. We barely knew each other before. Yet, we became best buddies after a while. It’s just awesome. It’s like we’ve known each other for a lifetime.
Listen, Edgar. Please, don’t tear the letter now. I promise you that it won’t be such a cliché again. I’m going to tell you the exciting things that happened during the past few months. Stereotypical pep talk’s over. Let’s get the exciting part started.
When we were preparing for the competition, we were deeply stressed. We even cried for a few hours. And here came the exciting part. To cheer us up, our coach gave us $500 to buy snacks! We’d already used half of it that day. What’s more? One of my teammates waited for us for more than three hours to have dinner. (We had dinner at half past nine that night.) But he didn’t complain. Instead, he gave us a box of chocolate, which he could’ve eaten so that he wouldn’t have starved to death. This was not actually as exciting as the rides in Ocean Park. It’s another kind of excitement. It’s different. Well, probably you won’t understand, but it’s really, really exciting. You feel excited because you get to experience a lot with such good teammates.
You know, I really was thrilled and nervous before the day of the competition. That day, I could literally feel surges of pure adrenaline rushing in my body from here to there. We, the whole team and also other members of the school’s robotics team, were extremely excited. I’d never felt so thrilled before. I felt happy, yet scared. I felt hope, yet also fear. I wanted to cry because of all the pressure, yet also wanted to laugh because of all the pleasure. I felt happy because I got to take part in a competition with such a trustworthy, reliable, family-like–no, they are my other family now–great team. I felt hope because I knew our effort would eventually pay off. I felt splendid because I knew we’d put a lot of effort into it, and we deserved to be honoured after all. Yet, I felt scared because I was afraid that I would do something wrong during the competition and I would let the whole team down. I felt fear because I was afraid that some other team would be better than us. I felt pressured because everything depended on how we performed that day.
It was amazingly, unbelievably thrilling. You won’ know if you don’t participate in FLL–the excitement it brings to you. It’s fascinating, addictive, even.
I can’t wait to go to Australia. I know I will experience the same excitement. I also know I’ll develop an even stronger nexus with my teammates–strongest bond ever!
So, what about you? How are you these days? I hope to read your letter soon.
P.S. Don’t you dare to forget our promise. I’ve kept it. So I am expecting you to take part in an international competition and win the championship!
Love always,
Cordelia