The Best Type of Joke

Now that I’ve been in office for almost four months I think that there's something some of my teammates have started to notice about me. It’s not anything bad and I don’t think that it annoys anyone. It is that I have an interesting sense of humor. You see I seem to find the weirdest, smallest, and most of the time things that they don’t consider funny, funny. I realized that my humor was different from theirs when I started telling them the jokes that I found funny. On snapchat I’m subscribed to a person who posts a daily dad joke. I personally find almost everything he posts funny but my teammates (mainly Nick) don’t find the humor in them. My instagram reels are almost all jokes as well. These small one liner jokes are what I find a lot of joy in life from. To me Dad jokes are the best type of joke. They are small, often are a play on words, and easy to remember. I’ve started using these types of jokes all the time this year. Back during LDW I had my ice breaker activity be matching the set up and punchlines from dad jokes. Personally I thought it was a great way to meet new people and to start a conversation. Thankfully some others agreed and I got to hear about how these jokes helped start a few new friendships. I have also adopted a new way to start my facilitation. We normally start a day with an ice breaker activity or two. Most of the time we are working with middle schoolers who don't like to participate. I’ve found that a good way to get them to talk is to start by telling jokes. That's why I start each facilitation with the joke

How much does a polar bear weigh?

Enough to break the ice. It's time for an icebreaker activity.

These little jokes are something that bring joy to my life. I know not everyone finds these funny but everyone does have something that brings them some daily joy. Maybe that thing is your dog or a sibling, or maybe it's not a physical thing but something you see on social media. But each of us has something that brings us joy. I’m going to leave everyone with some more joy. A few more dad jokes to brighten your day.

I never buy anything that has Velcro with it, it’s a total rip-off

I was going to tell you a fighting joke but I forgot the punch line.

I was going to tell you a time travel joke but you didn’t find it funny.

What does a sweet potato wear to bed? His yammies

6 is scared of 7 because 7,8,9 but why did 7 eat 9? Because you’re supposed to eat 3         square meals a day.

One thing I can’t deal with...is a deck of cards glued together

I’m Broken

I am broken. These are three words that I have truly realized over the past few weeks. I am broken. 

 

However, up until I got the courage to write this blog, I could only see my brokenness as a negative, as something to hide, as a hindrance on my everyday life. Then, a few days ago, I started listening to a podcast hosted by Sadie Robertson called “Woah, That’s Good”. In one of her recent episodes she, as well as her guest interviewee, discuss how they have learned to trust God with their brokenness. While I am Christian and connected deeply to the concept of trusting God in my broken state, there was another key idea I really felt I needed to hear, ponder, and most importantly share. 

 

Our brokenness is not negative. Our brokenness is not something to hide. Our brokenness is not a hindrance. Rather, our brokenness is a chance to grow, develop, and continue building upon where we currently are. It takes brokenness to create change and create progress. It takes realizing your brokenness to appreciate how far you’ve come. A few very impactful quotes and facts popped up as I was doing some research for this blog:

 

“God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.” – Vance Havner

 

“A seed has to crack and break to grow”

 

“In Japan, broken objects are often repaired with gold. The flaw is seen as a unique piece of the object’s history, which adds to its beauty.”

 

 

You see, oftentimes we may find ourselves broken down, truly questioning what we’re doing, where we’re going, and even how we do each of our actions. Sometimes we may be at a complete standstill, unsure of what to do or where to go next. If your me, you may be struggling with finding the passion to do what you want to do. 

 

Whatever brokenness you’re feeling isn’t permanent, it won’t last forever, and it doesn’t make you any less worthy. Your brokenness is a chance to appreciate where you are, where you have been, and where you’re going. Your brokenness is an opportunity to truly recognize your potential and begin growing. Your brokenness is a part of your unique history. Your brokenness is truly beautiful. 

 

Allow yourself to recognize your brokenness – to truly investigate yourself and where you are. Appreciate the beauty of your broken state and begin planning how you’ll let your brokenness fuel you to accomplish so much more. And finally, in a few weeks, a few months, or a few years, look back at your period of brokenness and smile at how far you’ve come. 

 

In a beautiful broken state, 

Abby Stuckwisch

Make That Impact

We all impact someone each day, whether we know it or not.

This didn’t become real to me until my Senior year of high school, when I was on top. At little Eastern Hancock high school, you are the talk of the town when you are finally a Senior. As a person was involved in everything through high school, I had adults, members of the community, and people younger than me constantly coming up to me when I was in public.

As FFA events started back up, we would have an FFA meeting every first Thursday of the month. I would  have a young gal with brown hair named Audrey come up to me after the meeting and always want to talk. I didn’t think twice about it, so I would have a quick conversation with her and we would go on with our night. 

As time would go by, I would end up visiting and facilitating younger classes for my ag teachers. I was in my cousin’s class one day, and she was in the same grade as that brown haired 8th grader I wrote about earlier. My cousin came up to me one day and was talking about how much that girl would talk about me - about my style, the jewelry I wore, my personality, and how I took time to simply talk to her. I had no idea the things I said to her were making an impact. It was in these moments I truly understood the power humans have to make a difference.

With this story, I challenge you to evaluate this - are you taking time for other people? What are you doing to ensure others are feeling loved, valued, and appreciated? Our impact on others can be positive or negative -- it’s up to you on how you choose to make that impact.

Make that impact,

Jordyn Wickard

Your Passion Can Take You Places

    If I was told 10 years ago I would have over 100 goats before I would graduate high school I would have laughed. Ya see when I was 8 years old I fell in love with goats. Does anyone know why? No one does, including myself. It took me 4 years to convince my dad to let me get my goats. Now when I first wanted goats I only wanted a few and I wanted to start my goat journey with Angora goats (these are the ones that look like sheep) but I did not get any.

Pictured is one of the first does I ever purchased, so fondly named “Beardy.” As you may see my sister’s insistence on me learning how to braid paid off. 

    When we find something that we are passionate about, it drives us to further develop that passion. For me what started as a passion for raising goats, persuaded me to follow a career within the livestock industry. Do not ever be afraid to follow your passion, even if it started  with the single thought of getting goats.

You’re goat loving Reporter,

    Jeremiah Geise

Romanticizing Life

Romanticizing- to believe that something is better, more interesting, or more exciting than it really is

Have you ever heard of the trends where you do tasks everyday to romanticize your life? Well, over the summer I took on the challenge. I was determined to make every moment this summer as special as possible. Below I have added some photos which represent some of these activities I took part in.  (Please note some photos are poor quality due to immense levels of fun happening!)

The first image you see is the team participating in an intense game of rain volleyball. Despite being soaking wet and sand flying into everyone’s eyes. It was the best time of my life. We were all able to let go for a while and just enjoy a simple game of volleyball. I learned that some of the best moments were had in the pouring rain.

Next is a photo of a sunflower field. Kourtney and I discovered this one day driving down a random road in Franklin. The sign said “You Cut Sunflowers”, so we immediately pulled over. After about thirty minutes of cutting flowers, we came home with about 12 in total. Spending some time surrounded by happy colors of bright yellow and green filled me with total serotonin. A simple action became one of my favorite events of the summer.

As my last photo for this post, it is clear that I am inside of a dinosaur egg. I thought this was the best way to capture how I enjoyed the state fair. Yes, the state fair was a struggle. But, I had some small moments that created a lot of joy during this time. First, I was able to take goofy photos with different photo ops which still make me laugh and feel like I am five. Second, I spent 12 dollars to purchase a massive slushie. It was totally worth it. Plus the refills were only five dollars! Being able to let go and just have a little fun made the state fair an experience I definitely will not forget. What a way to end my summer!

To summarize it all, I created memorable moments in the most unexpected ways and places. I challenge each of you to create those memories for yourself throughout this year. Go buy yourself some ice cream on your way home from school or go dance in the rain after you finish a sports practice. 

Living in the moment,

Madisen Carns