Everyone says our State Officer team is weird. We have more
boys than girls; three of us were never on the executive committee; and we don’t
have anyone farther south than Columbus, Indiana. However, the biggest thing
people love to marvel over is all of our college decisions. Courtney is headed
to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Kenzie and Mason will both be
judging livestock—Kenzie at Butler Junior College in Kansas and Mason at
Lincoln Land Community College in Illinois. Sean is going to Indiana University
at Bloomington. Brett, Josh, and I will be attending Purdue University in West
Lafayette. Upon meeting us, people often assume we are all going to Purdue. They
are shocked to hear only three of us will be in West Lafayette in the fall.
College decisions are personal and difficult. Don’t settle on a college to make
other people happy. When you make your decision, make it for yourself.
During my
senior year, I was terribly conflicted about where I would go after I walked
off the stage at the Eastern Hancock High School graduation. I knew I would run
for State FFA Office, but that was not a sure thing by any stretch of the
imagination. When it was all said and done, only seven people would be moving
to Trafalgar after State Convention. Deciding on a college was a necessity, and
not only did I have to decide, I had to get accepted too, and after I got
accepted, I had to pay for it. It was all enough to make me want to curl up in
a ball and stay in my bed forever. But like everyone else in the world, I have
a mom who wasn’t about to let that happen; so I started researching schools.
I narrowed
it down to two: Oklahoma State University and Purdue University. I got accepted
to both. It turns out that wasn’t too hard. The hardest part was deciding. I
felt pulled in a million different directions. People told me stay in-state.
People told me go out of state. People told me if I went to Purdue I would be
settling. Others said there was no reason to go to Oklahoma State if I could
get the same education in Indiana. It was all very confusing. Throughout the
whole ordeal, I forgot to listen to the only voice that mattered—my own.
I was so
busy worrying about what was important to everyone else I had forgotten to
contemplate what was important to me. One day, I sat down and thought about my
priorities. The two most important things to me were scholarships and
opportunities. I did not want to walk away from college with debt, and I wanted
to go somewhere that could give me good opportunities for internships, travel,
and networking. Obviously, I wanted to have fun, make friends, and be on a
pretty campus, but those were all secondary priorities for me. Defining what
was really important made my life so much easier. I could finally separate
everyone else’s wants and needs from my own.
After
that, the only thing I had to do was visit both campuses. They were both
beautiful in their own way and both had different strengths and weaknesses. But
I knew Purdue was the school that fit the best with my personal priorities. I
am happy with my decision, and I am incredibly excited to go to Purdue in the
fall.
To all
the seniors trying to decide on a college: Take a deep breath. Everything is
going to be okay. I know everyone is telling you a lot of different things, but
the only thing that matters is what you think. At the end of the day, you have
to go to the school you choose. You have to live there for four years, make
friends there, and learn there. You are the one who has to be at peace with the
decision. Don’t let anyone influence you. This is one decision you want to make
for yourself.
From the State Officer House with Love,
Annalee Witte
2015-2016 Indiana FFA State Secretary
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