758.

That’s how many photos appear when I search “sunset” in my camera roll. 

I can’t remember a time in my life when I haven’t gone out of my way to capture a good sunset. Before I had my license, I would have my parents drive past our subdivision just so I could take a picture of the sun dipping below the fields surrounding my neighborhood. I would get frustrated if the windows were dirty, someone’s head was in the way or the car was moving too fast and my picture came out blurry. 

Now that I drive myself, my stops have become much more frequent. I take the long way, turn down random streets and get disappointed when the road curves and the colors disappear from my line of vision. 

I love golden hour. Pinks, oranges and yellows streak across the sky, while trees glow with a halo of gold. The way the light brings out the beauty in the most ordinary places never ceases to amaze me. There is a reason it is called golden hour. The right lighting makes almost anything look beautiful. However, as much as I love golden hour, I also wonder: why do we only call an hour beautiful when the lighting is right?

As FFA members, sometimes we focus too much on making every moment look elaborate, ideal or beautiful. We look for our own version of golden hour: the winning speech, the new leadership position or the perfect chapter event. This is because those moments are the ones that photograph the best.

The truth is, though, we all have struggles, we all make mistakes and we all have bad days. Those moments aren’t pretty. They are the moments we choose not to take a picture of because the lighting isn’t quite right, but they are also the moments that help us grow.

We tend to focus on sharing the moments that are the most impressive, but our FFA experience is not measured by highs alone. The growth that happens when no one is watching matters just as much.

Missouri FFA, don’t spend so much time chasing the perfect sunset that you miss the beauty of the moment you are already in. Just because the lighting doesn’t seem right doesn’t mean the moment isn’t beautiful.