Just a Simple Thank You.

Today, I had the chance to return to the Kentucky FFA State Convention as a contest judge. I always love going back to convention. I'm surrounded by national blue and corn gold corduroy jackets. I see wide-eyed youth, on fire for the FFA. I feel their nerves as they prepare to compete. I notice their excitement as they try to take in all that the convention has to offer. I know this because I was once a young FFA member experiencing my very own first state convention. First as a regular member, then as a team competitor, then as a prepared public speaker, next as a State Officer Candidate and finally, as a Kentucky FFA State Officer. To try to describe to you the impact the the National FFA Organization has had on my life would be impossible. There aren't enough words to properly express how much love I have for the FFA. Or what it did for me. Or how passionate I feel about youth getting involved in the FFA.

When I first came back to convention as a Past State Officer, I was overwhelmed with sadness. I was no longer allowed to sport my official dress down the hallways. I couldn't blend in with the members in my blue corduroy that became so familiar it almost felt like a second skin. Instead, I was in dress pants and a blouse...the official dress of a "has-been." I looked at the fresh faces of the new state officers and wanted to trade places with them. It was an emotion so strong, I physically hurt from missing the FFA.

After the next few trips back, it got easier to see the new batch of state officers. Instead of jealousy, I felt excitement for them. Glad they were getting to live out their moment and experience something few members get the chance to. Instead, I looked at my friends from the FFA...people that were members the same time I was...that were now the FFA advisors. The ones that got a front row seat every day to watch their students fall in love with agriculture. I began to feel a different kind of jealousy. One where I felt like my friends were getting to live out the ultimate dream job, while I just came to convention as an outsider--only to return back to whatever job that was waiting for me at home. I'd look at my friends and wonder if I'd made a terrible decision. I'd wonder if I, too, should be in their shoes and should have followed the path of an ag teacher.

Finally, I returned to convention again today. I waited for the pang of jealousy or the realization I hadn't made the right decisions to hit....but that feeling never came. Instead, I looked at my friends, leading their groups of students around, and just felt proud. I am so proud to know people that have truly found their calling in life. People that just KNEW they wanted to be ag teachers and are doing a fantastic job doing just that. When I look at my friends and hear them talk about their plans for their programs and their students, their excitement is contagious. I'm genuinely happy for them. They're living out their dream...it's just not one that was made for me. I know that I'll find my true calling one day (I hope, I hope...), but for now, I'm content coming back to convention in my current role: as a proud FFA Alum that's deeply, gratefully, humbly thankful for having the chance to learn so much from just a simple school organization. Thank you, Kentucky FFA.

1928=best year ever

Few people in life are lucky enough to find that one thing that makes them come alive. That one thing that they want to do for the rest of their lives, regardless of how much money it may make them. I'm one of the lucky few. I've found my calling in life: agriculture. More specifically, getting youth involved in agriculture. And I have the FFA to thank for that. And before you ask, no it does not stand for the Future Farmers of America anymore. In my dad's time, the main focus was cows, sows and plows, but the organization taught you so much more than that. You learned how to be a leader. You learned valuable skills like team building and public speaking that are more than necessary to be a successful professional in today's economy. You learned what it meant to be passionate about something. That much hasn't changed. The FFA taught me so much more than leading a group of people in proper Parliamentary Procedure or how to give a perfect prepared public speech about the disappearing family farm structure. I learned that I can actually like the person I am. Before my FFA days, I was S-H-Y to the extreme--and I don't even think that describes it well enough. I hated talking to people. The idea of introducing myself to someone was equivalent to physical pain for me. Eating a bug sounded more appealing than giving a speech in front of a group of people. So you can imagine my reluctance to join a group where all three of the above mentioned were pretty much the norm for a member. After much prodding from my dad, I joined. And my life was never the same. I LOVE giving speeches. I love getting up in front of a group and talking about a subject with which I'm knowledgeable and enjoy talking about. I would pay good money to go back to my FFA State Officer year where I was expected to travel around and give workshops and meet new people on a weekly basis. I have never been prouder to own an article of clothing than I was the day I got my new FFA jacket. Slipping into that blue corduroy with my name and office embroidered in corn gold stitching, I felt invincible. In short, the FFA changed my life (gosh, does that sound as dramatic out loud as it does in my head??). It made me realize that life is about more than just going to work and making money. It's about finding something that you love and doing it well. It's about going to work and feeling a spark of passion for what you're doing. So thank you FFA. Thank you for helping me find the me that I never knew existed. Thank you for giving me a wonderful year as a state officer with wonderful people that I still consider to be like brothers and sisters to me. Thank you for instilling confidience in me and helping me realize that I am a valuable commodity and have skills that are useful in today's economy. Happy FFA Week to all past, present and future FFA members. Let's count our blessings that those 33 farm boys in 1928 decided to start a path to prepare us all for a better future. :)