Women, Robots, and Good Things

Dearest reader,

I hadn't realized that people actually read this blog and pay attention. It has become a fantastic outlet for the things on my mind. More so, I appreciate more than anything the kind words, the food and the emotional support all around. This is not just a technical adventure, but an emotional rollercoaster. And the more times we go through the journey, the better we get a figuring out how to control and manage that emotional rollercoaster.

For me, working with a group of young, strong willed women and being a woman is something really special. I think, I've grown up to keep my emotions in during my struggles in school, and at work. It goes with the thinking that 'if I want to play with the big boys, I can't cry'. More and more, I believe that perhaps this is not the way to approach life, and perhaps I've been doing it so long, that I have to unlearn it. A very wise and insightful woman said to me last night: 'Emily, perhaps it's a good lesson for the girls to see you crack at the surface. It's important for people to be able to share their emotions, to be true to ourselves in the way that we feel, and to feel comfortable sharing that'. You know who you are out there - and I really appreciate you.

I think what makes this team special is that we are all women and that we can work things out in a way that is emotionally supportive and perhaps different from how much of the engineering and science world works. I think we can be much more open and understanding with each other. I did break into tears last Friday - it was a culmination of many things in my work and life - but after that, and after a number of heartfelt conversations with people at work, and with a few of you, I am definitely on the upswing. I believe that having opened myself up to you, our friendships have grown stronger and our ability to work together has grown stronger.

Like work hardened steel, we only become stronger people when we work through our trials and tribulations in robotics, and in life.