You don’t know what you have until it’s gone

I’ll share a little secret with you. On December 20th when I departed from the Leadership Center for Christmas vacation I was ready for a break. I missed my family, my friends, my house, my bed, my “normal sleep schedule,” and conversations with people who don’t know me better than I know myself. However, on that drive home before I made it to the North side of Indianapolis, the sense that I had just forgotten something substantial began to permeate my mind. I did a quick analysis of my packing checklist and was sure I had everything. It might have been my subconscious telling me that I had forgotten my only bed pillow at the Center, but I truly believe what I was missing was my teammates. It is now 1:18am on Monday January 5, 2015. And I sit awake in my bed while the hours that I have left at home are slipping away.  I have spent that last 15 days and 6 hours away from my teammates. Although my time with family was nice, and it was great to catch up with old friends, I CANNOT wait to see those 6 hood rats. And it is that moment that is hindering my sleep tonight. As a State Officer, there are various reasons to be excited. I am excited to continued visiting the few sponsors that we have left. I am excited to experience the Fort Wayne Farm Show on the other side of the table. I am excited to get back out on the road and travel to chapter and districts for FFA Week, District Conventions, and Chapter Banquets. I am excited to facilitate our last conference (LDW 2 Feb. 6-8th, be there or be square), and I am excited to embark on the journey of planning the 86th Indiana FFA State Convention. But what is keeping me awake tonight, what is pulsing through my veins causing my mind to race is the excitement to reunite with my teammates. Six months ago when that gavel tapped, I knew that I was bound for a year full of experiences that only 7 individuals every year are able to have. Little did I know that the greatest thing that I had just gained was more than teammates, more than friends, and even more than family, I’m not even sure that there is a word in the dictionary to describe what those six individual mean to me. The best way to explain it is that each of them, Derek, Jacob, Lindsey, Brittany, Kathleen, and Dakota, have become a part of me; a part that I have been missing these last two weeks, a part that I am excited to reunite back home at the Leadership Center . We have all heard the saying “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” I had gone 6 months knowing that these individuals had become my family, but not truly understanding what that meant until I hit the North side of Indy, and they were absent from the moment. So what do you have? What are you overlooking in your day to day life? Or, what part do you know exists, but do not truly understand? I challenge you. Find that thing in your life. Become excited about it. Live it. Love it. Appreciate it before it’s gone. Mine was absent for two weeks; hopefully you are that lucky as well.  With a heart refueled with passion, and a mind racing with excitement, Skylar Clingan State Secretary 2014-2015