I LOVE chocolate ice cream, so much so that when I go to the store, there is only one brand I eat. If they do not have that brand, I convince myself I did not want or need the ice cream in the first place. The last time this happened, I was sitting in Walmart telling myself I did not want the Blue Bell chocolate ice cream. I knew I wanted the ice cream, and I wanted it bad. But I told myself I didn’t. I talked myself out of it because, conveniently, it was not available. To me, the other options were simply not good enough. Although it might not be chocolate ice cream, I see this happening in my day-to-day life. I tell myself I do not want to do something even though I want to so badly. 

This comes to life for each of us in FFA. As young members, we tell  ourselves, “Oh, I do not want to get involved.” Using phrases like, “I don’t need it,”or, “It won’t have a use in my life,” or my personal favorite, “Well, I don’t want to be a farmer.” We tell ourselves these negative thoughts so that maybe, just maybe, we will convince ourselves into doing something we don’t want to do. I have done it a thousand times at the grocery store, telling myself, “I don’t even want chocolate ice cream.” Whether we are just starting out in the organization or continuing our FFA careers, we are fortunate enough to have the opportunities laid out in front of us. All the ice cream flavors of opportunity and all of the brands are at our fingertips, we just have to put them in our shopping carts. So next time you find yourself looking for the same brand and flavor of ice cream, challenge yourself to try something new. Who knows? You might discover your new favorite flavor.