Growth

Anything new is always either scary or exciting. When something new comes along it can grow a person or even a family. Yesterday I got a text from my mom that read, “Family pics are on Facebook!” Within two seconds of reading the message I instantly start scrolling through Facebook trying to find our family pictures. The first picture I found was an image of my brother, sister and I.

My family was always just my Mom, Dad, brother, sister and me. A family of five full of love. However, as of today that family of five has grown by two family members.

My sister now has a husband and my brother now has a soon to be wife. They are both new additions that grew our family. I am full of love when I look at our pictures and I am thankful everyday for the people in my life. This next picture I am laughing so much because of the funny faces my brother and brother-in-law are making behind the camera.The picture shows three people, but it was affected by more than that.

Growth doesn’t always have to be scary. We all have blessings in our lives and if we look clearly we can find every little joy we encounter.

~Chyenne Deno

Where Do You Come From?

The station Q103.1 is blaring from the radio, the windows down and that autumn breeze is hitting my face. Jamming to the best country station we have where I live and riding on the back of some country road is what I loved to do. This clears my mind and makes me reflect, and focus on what I love most. Looking at the farms and corn fields is one thing I enjoy doing on these car rides. This past week, as Brittany and I were driving to chapter visits, we passed some fields and farms and took some back roads. Driving by them made me day dream of all the scenes I had passed back home. This brings me to my point: I had been so focused on wanting to move to Montana and live and pass those farm fields. During this trip with Brit, I was thinking about everyone I went to high school with that wanted to leave and wanted to be anywhere but our little town. I had realized that I would not make it in the city. I can’t get those late-night drives, harvest fields of corn gold rows or my favorite view from a big city.  I love sitting on a hill looking down at a little farm house that’s surrounded by animals. Don’t take what you have for granted because it’s not always going to be there. Life changes, things happen, and we move away sometime. Take a minute to reflect on where you come from. What do you love about where you grew up?

Until Next Time,
Nathan Deatrick

Purpose Fuels Passion

Do you ever feel lost? Like you are wondering through a dark forest with no paths to follow? I have been there before. I was in sixth grade, all of my friends played sports and were athletic and I was the least athletic person in my class. I wanted to be the popular athlete in the future because that was the goal of every other sixth grader. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I did not know my purpose.

Going into seventh grade, I was still trying to fit into this unrealistic expectation of how my life was supposed to pan out: play basketball and volleyball all through middle and high school then go on to become a college athlete. These were my friends’ goals so I thought in order for me to fit in, they had to be mine too.

When school started, there was an FFA callout and I went because my dad was in FFA. Even though in some of my classmates’ eyes it was not the “cool” thing to do, I was immediately sold. I quickly became involved in my chapter through community service projects and contests we competed in. Slowly, I began to realize that my purpose did not lie in sports, but rather in serving those around me.

Because I dared to do something different, FFA helped me discover my purpose. Throughout high school I was able to take that purpose and find the things I am passionate about.  Serving others on mission trips to Honduras, at places such as Circle City Relief, and through community service projects back home. These passions opened my eyes to new perspectives that I would not have gotten otherwise. Taking a part in something bigger than yourself is the most rewarding job ever.

Maybe you feel lost. If you do, I encourage you to think outside of the box and dare to be different even if it is not the “cool” thing to do. You never know what doors that action may open for you. If you have the courage to be different, you will find your purpose which will lead to discovering your passions. Your purpose will fuel your passions.

Be you,

Savannah Bordner

Starting Line in Mind

Now is the time where my teammates and I are traveling across the state for chapter visits and district kickoffs. My first week group consisted of Chyenne, Jarrett, and me. On Wednesday, September 5 we were in district three and decided to stop for lunch at Jimmy Johns. We walked in, ordered lunch, and sat down at one of the booths. If you have ever been to Jimmy Johns you know that they have a wide array of signs throughout the restaurant. One of these signs was hanging on the wall by the booth and we started reading it. It was a list and the title of the list was “16 Things That it Took Me Over 50 Years to Learn by Dave Barry (On the event of his 50th birthday).” One of these numbers stuck out to me...

15. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

This is the circumstance for many students we are facilitating to during chapter visits and kickoffs. Unlike some, I was very fortunate to come from a school where FFA was the thing to do. I have noticed that others have not been so lucky. At some schools, individuals are ridiculed for being an FFA member. Those brave members join the organization looking to benefit from it like everyone else does, but also hopefully start a spark for other students to join. This embodies one of the reasons why we have chapter visits. Many of the students we talk to are middle schoolers who have their high school FFA career ahead of them or high school students who aren’t in FFA. It could just take one experience for someone to join FFA.

It’s hard to stand alone. I remember this being a fear for me when I was considering state office. My advisor was always there for me when I had a question or needed advice to improve a project. During state office, I couldn’t just send him a presentation or speech and ask for his thoughts on it. I thought I would be alone. I’ve learned this year that I will have individual projects, but the team will always be there to support me. If I need something to be looked over, an opinion on an idea, or a brainstorming session then my team will step up and help.

The reason we don’t start a project could be because we are too focused on the end goal and forget about the steps to get there. When a large task is presented, we just have to take it one step at a time. Focus on the “now” to reach the “then.” If the goal is to start a new fundraiser, start by determining what the fundraiser will be and what resources are already there. It would be overwhelming to think of every action that needs to be done. Trying something new is a scary feat for many of us, but if we tackle projects in steps it can make the end goal seem more realistic.

Never stop trying,

Brittany Gonzales

State Secretary