It all started my junior year of high school. I was excited to begin my wonderful journey in Future Farmers of America. I was nervous but the road ahead of me was going to be an awesome experience. Some of my experiences include showing my animals, the competitions I attended, being a FFA officer and going to the state convention, also have an end of the year banquet, and also meeting wonderful people throughout my experience. It was the best two years of my life. It all started my junior year when I decided I wanted to start out showing rabbits.
I had a total of four beautiful California Rabbits. I had to tend to them every day. Some of my responsibilities included clipping their nails, bathing them every day, feeding and watering, and also training them to stay in one spot. These animals had to maintain a certain weight as well. I really enjoyed these animals to start out with. My first experience of showing them was at the county fair. I did not make sale with them, but that did not stop me from pursuing in another animal. My heart was set to win big. The following year | decided that I wanted to change paths.
I enjoyed showing the rabbits but I wanted to do something bigger. The impact on my decision came from one of my cousins who raised show goats. She was very passionate about it and it rubbed off on me. The only down fall was the price I had to pay for the goat, which was three-hundred dollars. As the weeks went by the goat was all i could think about, his name was Half-Pants. The reasoning of this name was because one leg was white, while the other was brown. Well one weekend my parents left and didn’t tell me where they were headed to. At the time I did not think anything of it.
Later that day they brought home the goat I wanted. I was so excited! A new journey had begun, and I was ready for it. After a month of trying to train my goat I became upset because there was no progress. We were devastated to find out his legs were pigeon toed, but all my family and friends still pushed me to try harder. I worked with him every day as hard I could but could never get anywhere with him. My first show with him did not go as well as I had hoped. I was very upset! My family and teachers all wanted me to do well considering it was my senior year of high school.
My parents had felt bad about the situation, and had considered buying another goat. They were very supportive of my FFA career I had built throughout the past year. They wanted to do anything they could to help me succeed, so they bought me another goat which I named Houdini. I still had not given up on half pants but at least now had a better chance of winning with my new goat. I worked with each of them every morning before school, and also long hours after. I was really enjoying everything I was learning, and had gotten very attached to my goats.
I had worked so hard with my goats and it finally paid off. Houdini made sale, I could not have been any happier at that point. Now to the competition side of things. This was very exciting for me. I was on the debate team for FFA called parliamentary inquiry. I was the sentinel my junior year and the advisor my senior year. We went to district and placed 5th my junior year and 3rd my senior year. I was also on the quiz team my senior year where we would take a test over the history and the future of FFA I learned so many different things like how to make a motion, and how to debate a topic.
Also changing a motion, and making a committee. This was a big step for me considering! am very shy person. It was not all about the debate team, I was also involved in floriculture. We went to different colleges and had to identify different plants. My senior year we placed 8th out of thirty schools. I was able to meet so many friendly people and make tons of different friends. I really all of the things I had learned and experienced in this aspect of FFA. I am grateful that I was so involved in the competition side of things.
I had so much fun and would go back and do it all over again if I had the chance. My junior year someone told me that I should run for FFA officer, because of my dedication and leadership skills. To become an officer you had to make a speech about why you would be a good officer. Also take a test over the history of FFA, and people would vote on who they wanted. I did not think that I was the type of person to make officer, but I tried and I made it! Along with this responsibility I was the chaplain as well.
Since | was given this position I had responsibilities that I had to take care of. Some of those responsibilities include state convention, planning meetings, making prayers, and attending different school programs. The beginning of my senior year we went to state convention and it was the best summer of my life. The convention was for picking the new state officers for the following year. I was able to meet so many different people, and experience a different side of FFA. They had a lot of speeches we had to listen to and we also had to give one as well.
The topic was “Why is FFA Important to you? ” We gave a wonderful speech and everyone enjoyed it. State convention was so much fun, we got a concert provided to us and got to roam the Fort Worth stockyards for the weekend. Being an officer was not always easy though we had to conduct speeches and make sure everyone was on task with what they had to do. Sometimes things were tough but overall it was worth every minute. At the end of the year we have a wonderful banquet where parents and friends come to see the accomplishment we have made throughout the year in the FFA.
The outgoing officers get to design and plan the banquet and take the responsibilities on how it looks. The banquets is a sad time for the seniors. This is the last time we will be part of the schools FFA and the seni get to tell about their experiences and the fun that we had together in in FFA. The banquets is when everyone says goodbye to the senior officers and welcomes the new incoming officers. At the end of the banquet, the officers talk about the teachers, how much they have been an inspiration, and give them a gift for all they have done for us during that year.
Throughout my whole experience I also met a lot of wonderful people. One of those people that stand out would be my teacher Mrs. Johnson. I looked up to her a lot. She was there for me no matter what I needed. She pushed me throughout my FFA journey and I definitely would not have had the same experience without her. She was very dedicated and passionate about her job and you could tell. I am so happy she was in my life during this journey. She was so polite and helpful and I cannot thank her enough for all she had done for me. I also gained a lot of friends throughout my experience.
I still talk to most of them to this day and we still discuss our FFA journey. As you can see these were some of the best years of my life. I had an amazing experience and would not change it for the world. I had wonderful animals, went to competitions, made officer and went to state convention, being able to attend the FFA banquet, and also made many friends that I will never forget. This journey has made me the person that I am today and I am so grateful for all the people that were involved in this with me and helped me. I also look forward to helping others achieve their goals in FFA.