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5. Vexed

Vexed What Vex means to me is pretty much what it means to every other Vex robotics competitor. It means a problem without one correct answer. While in Vex there are many possible solutions to the problem, whether the game is Sack Attack or any of the earlier games, there is certainly no ideal solution. Even the most confident competitor can be vexed in Vex. Vex is perhaps the best named competition in the world. To vex is to annoy, frustrate or worry, to cause distress according to the dictionary. But trust me, I did not need the dictionary to so define Vex. Every Vex competitor across the world knows the meaning through experience. Vex to me is sharing frustration with Kiwis and Canucks. But even worse, it is waking up in the morning realizing that those Kiwis as well as the Chinese and Singapore teams have already been up for twelve hours working on a better solution. Iteration happens in Vex. And thanks to my fellow competitors on the other side of the international dateline it is happening not only today but tomorrow while I am still stuck here in this day. Vex to me means change, constant change. There is good change and bad change. Vex to me sometimes means one step forward and two steps back. But to me, to be vexed is not a bad thing. It means, regardless of when I have a spare minute or two, I will have a purpose in my life.