What is the best week of the year? Well, I guess it’s a tie with Farm Show in January!
Last week, to many of you, may have just been another cold, kind of wet week up here in Happy Valley. As the week after THON, things are kinda relaxed as people sleep for 30 hours straight, try to retain their hearing and voices after screaming in the BJC, and are attempting to regain feeling in their feet. It’s suddenly time to get down to the grind of schoolwork before spring break. But last week, Feb 16-23 is probably the BEST week of the year…. because… drumroll please…it marked the annual celebration of National FFA week! : )
This is also fitting because my twin sister Lindsay and I have our Birthday on Feb 16th, what a way to ring in FFA Week!
As many of you can tell by my Carhartt Jacket, and pretty much every other T-shirt I wear to class, that I LOVE THE FFA! Why, because it changed my life, seriously, check out my post from earlier this year
The Three Letters that Changed My Life; FFA
Buuut, I guess I should calm down a bit, and tell you a little bit more about this Ag Org! The FFA is a National Organization that reaches all across the United States, plus Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, and even Alaska. In fact, there are now FFJ (Japan) and FFK (Korea) Organizations as well.
With over ½ a million members, the FFA, which originally stood for Future Farmers of America, is not just for farmers! It is for anyone willing to try new things, learn, work with others (and oftentimes animals) and mostly grow! The FFA strives to develop “premier leadership, personal growth, and career success,” in High Schoolers in Agriculture Education. This is through Ag classes, trips and conferences, competitions, and meeting new people. Students must be enrolled in Agriculture Education to be involved in the FFA, and to be honest, those were my favorite classes in High School. Animal Science, Ag Business, Greenhouse Management, Welding and Shop, and many others were offered at my High School. I learned a lot in Ag classes, and not just about corn plants, chicken feed, and tractor driving (legit, it happened! Everyone in class drove my schools tractor around our bus port at the High School. My class even scared away a substitute gym teacher!) However, we also learn about team-work, leadership, communication, and skills for the workplace.
Probably the most valuable lesson I learned in High School was in my Ag Class, and it is to be willing. Willing to try new things, meet new people, help others, do something even if your scared, etc. Willing to believe in yourself even if others doubt your abilities. In my agriculture classes, the rabbits and poinsettia plants were not the only things growing. Every student has the chance to blossom in character, scholarly abilities and leadership.
The FFA Motto truly encompasses this organizations desire to help students grow.
I am so excited to tell you all about this Ag Family that has changed my life, and I hope the next time you see someone wearing any FFA Apparel, stop to ask them what it is all about! This is going to be a five part series on the FFA, including: the FFA Creed, FFA Apparel, Pennsylvania FFA Association, My experiences in the FFA, and Opportunities and Competitions within the FFA. Anyone have any preferences on what they want to read about first?
Alysha, Papa Royer, Lindsay, Mama Royer, and Me at the Pennsylvania FFA Midwinter Convention at the Farm Show. This is where students receive their State Degrees (Cool story, I was able to say Lindsay’s name as she walked on stage to get her degree!)
PS Also at the end of each FFA post, I will share a picture and a great quote I learned in the FFA!
Quote: “Forget the notion that you must be ordinary, it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary.”
Have a great break guys,
Your Ag friend, Sarabeth
PS National FFA Website: https://www.ffa.org/Pages/default.aspx
Thanks for reading this week guys! I am so glad that your excited to hear about the FFA.
Lydia, that is such a cool story and I am touched that you shared that with me! Cows are pretty awesome!
Have a great break guys 🙂
I’ve never heard of the FFA, but it sounds really cool! I’ll be looking forward to reading about it in future posts. I just want to say, additionally, that your writing style is top-notch. One paragraph in particular stuck out to me:
“Probably the most valuable lesson I learned in High School was in my Ag Class, and it is to be willing. Willing to try new things, meet new people, help others, do something even if your scared, etc. Willing to believe in yourself even if others doubt your abilities. In my agriculture classes, the rabbits and poinsettia plants were not the only things growing. Every student has the chance to blossom in character, scholarly abilities and leadership.”
Good stuff!!
Very cool. The effort you put into your posts does not go unnoticed. Keep up the good work. I can’t wait to hear about the FFA. I’ve never heard of it before going to school in a large suburb close to the city.
So awesome! I really didn’t know much about FFA until now. I saw the club at high school meet, and I’ve heard bits and pieces, but nothing like this! This is really neat! I had no idea that FFA did so much. It truly looks like FFA is a great program that offers great opportunities. I know I always say this, but… YOU are so cool! Can’t wait to hear more! Oh, and you pick the topic first! They’re all interesting!
Great as always Sarabeth! It is so interesting to hear what the FFA is especially since it had such a huge impact on your life. I think your passion about this topic is so awesome and different. It is so nice to hear about something I am completely uneducated about from someone who knows so much and is so passionate about it. Great job!!
Your post, as always, is uplifting and informative. I’m jealous that no tractor driving courses were offered at my school. There were a bunch of kids that would drive their tractors around town, but it was just for kicks and not for a class. I’m looking forward to hearing more about the FFA! The name is so familiar to me, but now I realize I don’t know much about it.
And just so you know, I was talking to someone who is a vegan because “people are mean to cows,” and I told her all about your farm and your adorable and well cared for cows. I said that drinking milk is actually supporting America’s family farms, and not hurting cows. Hopefully I represented you well 🙂
Can’t wait to hear what FFA is all about! I know a lot of people in my high school were in FFA, but I never really took the time to learn what it’s about or anything, I just thought “ok, farmers, done.” But obviously there’s much more to that!