A Weekend Away

New year new me?

The first weekend of our new year was spent at a cabin in Magnet, Indiana.  My teammates and members of association staff gathered on the Ohio river for Keynote Training, where we worked with Past Indiana FFA State officer, and Past National Officer, Father Tyler Tenbarge. 

Overlooking the beautiful river we spent time developing ourselves as speakers as well as developing the messages that we wanted to share as we travel to chapter banquets this spring.  The laughter, joy, and fellowship of this weekend were second to none, but there was one little issue that we noticed upon our arrival. The top left corner of our cell phones where one would typically find the strength of the signal, read “No Service.”  I am sure you can see the problem we all began to face.  Seven teenagers who are big users of email, text messaging, and social media would be living without for the next few days.

“How could I not share this beautiful view with Snapchat?” “I really wish I could read my email about FFA week,” were common phrases that were spouted out over the course of the weekend. We have a rule in the State Officer House that there are no phones at the dinner table, and considering most evenings we could barely make it through supper without bringing up a photo or email, you can imagine how empty we felt without the comfort of our Instagram and Facebook Apps.

However, looking back on the experiences that we shared this past weekend, empty would be the last word to describe it.  Silly dancing across the hardwood floors in our socks, challenging each other to intense games of pool, even though most of us had only played on our phones, and simply sitting down together with a card game is just the beginning of the laughter, joy, and memories that I will take from our weekend away.

I’m sure many students or teenagers reading this are shocked that we were able to step away from the digital world for those three days, and although I don’t want to admit it, I did call a friend to make sure I didn’t lose any Snapchat streaks.  Yet, the friendships and connections that I made with those around me will last longer than any snap streak.

So, I bring up the thought again, “new year new me?” and with confidence, I can say that my new year’s resolution is to spend more time focusing on those around me, than those on my phone.

With a full heart,

Logan Glassburn