It’s that time of year where you can start to feel the crispness of fall in the air. The slight chill in the breeze. The summer heat transforms to cool evenings and colorful scenery as the leaves transform from bright green to a bold multicolor display. The slow transition in the colors of the leaves. As I’ve walked around the FFA center, I’ve gotten to witness the changing colors first hand. It reminded me of 3 lessons we can learn from the leaves as they change; letting go, embracing change, and to soak up the little things.
Letting Go: Autumn reminds us the importance of letting go. We all go through seasons of life, and some are much harder to let go of than others. Much like how a tree has to let its leaves fall, we can never truly grow into our best selves without letting go and learning to take advantage of new opportunities. I had my own experience of letting go this past summer. Graduating high school was an exciting, fun, yet terrifying experience. I was so excited to adventure into a new chapter of my life, but it was so hard to let go of the place I had grown comfortable in. Since graduation, I’ve been able to take in new experiences, like state office, that were definitely worth me letting go of my comfort zone!
Embracing Change: My mom’s favorite verse in the Bible is Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is a time and a season to every action under heaven.” I’ve heard her recite it often and it reminds me that change is inevitable, so rather than fighting it, we should welcome it and look forward to whatever comes from the next season! Moving into the State Officer House was a huge change for me this summer. After living as an only child, it was an difficult transition to suddenly living with 6 new siblings! Although it has been a new learning experience for me, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. My teammates have become a family and I will be forever grateful for them!
Soak in the Beauty Around You: Stop and watch the harvest moon, take a stroll through a freshly chopped corn field. Go visit an apple orchard, sip some warm apple cider. Cozy up in a sweater around a firepit with your best friends. Whatever you do, don’t let the beauty of the little moments pass by you, unnoticed. I’ve had to remind myself often to slow down in these moments. Especially as a State Officer, these moments fly even faster, so I’ve had to learn to truly soak in all of the movie nights we have as a team, the family dinners around our kitchen table, the time sitting in the office all together, and the long hours in the car together. Although they may not seem like much, I know these are the moment’s I’ll miss the most when my time as an officer is over.
As fall settles in around you, take the time to learn from the leaves you see changing around you. It’s ok to let go, it’s important to embrace change, and never forget to soak in the beauty of the little moments around you.
Always learning,
Mary Jones
State Northern Region Vice President
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