Humans are all different from one another, and each of us has our own ideas and plans that are unique to our personalities. Some people make the decision to keep their distance from those who share their views in order to avoid having their opinions challenged. My experience was as described. When I was in seventh grade two years ago, I signed up for FTC Robotics and I joined the team with Jeff, Tommy, and Ashley; our assignment was to show teamwork, build and program a working robot, and present it all. The year I spent working with them taught me that despite our differences, we can all learn to respect one another and our opinions and, as a result, become the best versions of ourselves. Jeff, Tommy and Ashley had been friends since kindergarten before I got involved, and I had only had sporadic contact with them through common friends. Alex was a kid who had also known them since kindergarten and was already well acquainted with them when I first joined the team, and Jeff, Tommy, and Ashley had all asked their parents, "Why can't we have Alex?". They reluctantly allowed me to join the team because they needed at least four people to compete in the robotics tournament and there was an open spot because Solomon had joined a rival team. We got off to a rocky start because the trio did not even want me on their team. I wanted to learn about robotics and actually participate, but I soon discovered that this was not what the trio wanted. I was frequently ignored by Jeff, Tommy, and Ashley, who also wouldn't let me express any of my concerns or ideas. Without even listening to me, they would say, "It doesn't matter" or "It won't work" when I approached them with an idea or a question. They preferred that I simply get out of the way while they did the work, but I was determined to learn something new and contribute to the team, so I quickly realized that they would prefer if I avoided them altogether. Even as the tournament day drew nearer, they continued to leave me out of all of their discussions. I was not allowed to contribute, and even their parents had started to ignore me. I sat quietly as we discussed the robot at Jeff's house over dinner. We had struggled in the scrimmages, and it appeared unlikely that we would win the next tournament. All I could think as I sat there and listened to their arguments was, "Why am I even on this team? I can't do anything here. Am I even on this team.". I turned to look at my father, who gave me a look that said he wanted me to speak up. In an effort to intervene and speak, I turned to look at the trio's parents arguing and the trio themselves. My words were interrupted by Tommy as I opened my mouth to continue. Tommy interrupted me after I repeated it. I attempted again, but Jeff cut me off. Guys, come on, I thought to myself. Pay attention to what I have to say. Please. That's when I heard something strange, "Listen to me, I'm right here, give me your attention.". Jeff, Tommy, and Ashley could be heard arguing. I had always assumed that the three of them shared the same viewpoints and could not disagree on anything, but there I was watching them argue. "Guys, we need to use a rack and pinion," Jeff said. ". Tommy retorted irately, "For what? Why can't we simply keep a lift that moves in an arc, Ashley questioned. It's too slow, Tommy said as he regarded him". Tommy responded, "No," when Jeff asked, "Well, do you have any ideas?". " . If you don't have any of your own, stop rejecting our ideas, Jeff yelled. I came to the conclusion that we were never a team at that point. We were all different and had different ideas, and we were unable to overcome this. At that point, I realized I had to demand their attention rather than merely pleading for it. They paused in surprise as I rose to my feet and yelled, "Hey! Look at me!". Look at us, I said as I turned to face them. We are not a group. We're just arguing right now. We must cooperate rather than compete. We cannot continue to reject each other's ideas in this manner. If we remain divided, we won't advance. " . Tommy questioned, "So, do you have any suggestions?". As a matter of fact, I do. I took advantage of my opportunity because I knew it was here. How about grabbing the blocks with a linear lift rather than an arm? Jeff continued, "We could move the lift up and down using the rack and pinion.". Ashley added, "We could make the rack and pinion out of the components from the attachment we already made. " . Tommy answered, "That's... not a bad idea. We had succeeded; in that instant, we had proven our ability to work as a team. We synthesized our various viewpoints and concepts to create something that was more than the sum of its parts. I noticed that Jeff, Tommy, and Ashley were also aware of what we just did, so I knew that something had clicked inside them as well. The trio started treating each other and me more kindly after that day. Instead of immediately dismissing one another's ideas, we all started to respect one another and our own. After all of our matches and presentations on the tournament day, we posed for a picture. Prior to that, we would have stood apart, especially me, but on that particular day, we stood together closer than ever. "Isabella, what are you doing? Get in the picture, man," Tommy yelled to me. The entire team is present. "We formed a quartet at last. We were able to advance to the state championship after finishing the tournament in third place. We gave it our all while we were competing in the championship, but we were unsuccessful. Although winning was not in the cards for us, we maintained our respect for one another despite the fact that we were defeated. We again posed for the team photo after the championship, but this time no one had to speak because we were all there. I only realized this because it was the first time I had seen how we had benefited from one another's differences rather than used them against one another. After spending a year together, Jeff, Tommy, Ashley, and I were able to use our differences as strengths to help us all achieve our shared objective. Despite the fact that we are still very different from one another and continue to disagree on many issues. We all learned how to get along with one another during our year together, and as we stated in our presentation, we discovered how to use our differences to our advantage rather than against it. After that, I understood that, even though we all have our differences, we can respect them and use them to our advantage to become better versions of ourselves.