"To practice brotherhood, honor agricultural opportunities and responsibilities, and develop those qualities of leadership that an FFA member should possess." The member's part of FFA Opening Ceremonies. My ag teacher made us write it out on every single test we took in his class. As a high school freshmen I thought it was a rather strange test question, but now these words are forever burned into my memory and I usually still stand during an FFA event and recite them along with the rest of the blue and gold mafia.
If you were to ask people that belong to the FFA cult which month they would consider to be "FFA month" you'd probably get a variety of responses. Some would say February because that's when National FFA week takes place. Others would probably throw out October with the National FFA Convention. For Lendy, FFA month will forever be June. Our State FFA Convention always takes place around the 3rd week of June and many of the most anxious and exciting moments of my young adult life occured leading up to and during those 3 days of convention. I was talking to one of my dearests the other day about our FFA Convention and I lapsed into talking about all the things that happened there and reminising about the past. My freshmen year of high school I delivered a 2 minute speech on the main convention stage as to why FFA was important. At that point I had no idea I had a talent or desire to do any public speaking. My senior year of high school I delivered a speech on the convention stage as 1 of 3 finalists in the state prepared public speaking contest. Every year I was in high school I participated on a state winning competitive team that was honored during the convention. I met multiple State FFA Officers and discovered I had a passion to serve as one. I was elected to serve as the State FFA President in 2003-2004. I presided over the 2004 convention and was recognized as the National FFA Officer candidate. Ended an engagement to a good guy that just wasn't the one. Opened the 2005 convention with prayer and introduced one of my oldest friends before her retiring State FFA Officer address. Mike and I went on our first lunch date during State FFA Convention in 2006. Everything really came full circle as I stood on stage with one of my students after she won 3rd place in the prepared public speaking contest in 2008.
Maybe the best part of State FFA Convention is how it always feels like a family reunion. Some of my oldest and dearest friends are FFA groupies. Visiting with old friends, the way my students or Mike's students hug me after they feel like they accomplished something...Convention is also about love.
Now that I've hung up my jacket and moved on from ag ed life June has turned into a month of mixed emotions. Something that was such a large part of my life for so long is still there but it will never be the same. The experiences that I had during FFA convention have been defining moments in who I am today, and as I remember back over all of these events I wonder if I have lived up to all of the hype. Have I lived up to the potential, training, and expectations for my future that were developed through my FFA experiences? Sometimes...especially around this time of the year...I feel that the answer is no. I also look back at some of the relationships that I had built through FFA experiences...important relationships... and how they have become lost in the wash of life. I realize that people come in and out for a reason, but these are situations where I feel like I was the one who dropped the ball especially with members of my State FFA Officer team.
In adult life there is no main stage or benchmarks or medals to attain so for someone who is driven by results and likes affirmation... it's easy to get disllusioned in the day to day grind. Em made a fabulous point... The achievements were not necessarily a big deal at the time because failure or anything less than the best just wasn't offered as an option. I'm just being reminded how important it is to celebrate the little things. As a teacher... I began to realize more so than at any other time of my life...that success is relative. Success isn't always about winning or being the best. It's about love, fun, personal growth... among other things.
As I sit down and write all of this out... I'm also reminded that all of our experiences are part of a divine journey that God is taking us on to bring us closer to who He wants us to become. I may feel insignificant or like a failure but if I am walking in His will there should be no greater joy or feeling of accomplishment. One of my college professors told us a story about how much he loved chalk as a child and that he never lost that love. He also worked at a garden center loading mulch but he loved to talk to customers about their gardens and how to improve them. He said he realized 20 years later that his love for chalk and the experiences talking to people about their gardens was a hunch that he was meant to be a horticulture teacher. (The story was much more involved but you get the point.) I believe God gives us those hunches. Driving all across the state visiting FFA chapters and speaking with people about agriculture as a State FFA Officer has prepared me to drive around in my white pick up truck to continue the spread of that message. Regardless of my feelings, I wouldn't trade what I have now or the people I have in my life for anything else. I'm being groomed for something bigger than money or prestige and I just need to learn to trust and stay humble.
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