Braden Havlik

All too often, I get stuck in the endless cycle of scrolling through social media on my phone or mindlessly texting people about the most random topics, and I am sure there are a lot of people who can relate. I find myself constantly responding to texts with things like “LOL,” meaning “laugh out loud,” or simply, “haha,” when most of the time, I don’t even let out a chuckle. This forced me to wonder about all the things we do out of habit with no meaning whatsoever. Scrolling through our phones, texting someone that I “laughed out loud” without actually laughing at all, and asking someone how they are but not listening to their response all came to my mind.

Soon, I found myself contemplating why we waste so much of our lives doing things for no apparent reason. Why do I spend so much time watching videos that provide me with no entertainment or satisfaction? Why do I ask people how they are doing if I don’t take the time to truly listen to what they say? Why do I take the time to text someone something that I never actually did? All of these questions forced me to look at my life from a different perspective and made me think of one of my favorite songs by Wyatt Flores, “Running Out of Time.” In this song, it states, “most people die at 27, get buried at 72,” which proves the more we do these mindless activities, the less we are living. The less we are making the most of each minute of our lives.

Missouri FFA, it’s never too late to start living during your time in our organization. Another line in the song is, “so, do what makes you feel alive.” This is my challenge for you. Don’t take for granted the time you have in FFA, or on earth, because to be honest, it truly is too short. Wake up before you can’t give another speech, before you can’t do another CDE, before you unzip your blue jacket for the last time. Missouri FFA, laugh out loud and do what makes you feel alive … we’re running out of time.

As I was driving home after my first week of classes at Mizzou, I was struck by the remarkable amount of change that occurred in the short time I had been gone. The corn, which was bright green just one week prior, now had a golden shimmer as I drove by, and in certain fields, some farmers had already begun their harvest. Even the cattle I passed seemed larger than before, with calving season soon approaching. All this made me realize our lives are constantly changing, just like the crops and livestock many of us spend a lifetime producing. 

With so much change in our lives, oftentimes it can be difficult to adapt. I, for one, have experienced this difficulty first-hand moving into college. Before the move, I wasn’t too worried about making new friends or adjusting to life in the city of Columbia. However, I soon realized that wasn’t the scary part of moving. The part I found to be the most difficult was losing the people I had gone to school with for four years prior and the small town I grew up in. These were things I had too often taken for granted, and I had no idea how much I would miss them until they were gone. 

Missouri FFA members, you are going to encounter so much change in your journey through FFA and through life. Whether it be moving schools, switching up your SAE or simply starting the new school year, there is so much change in all of our lives. I encourage us all to live each season of life as though it’s our last. We never know when the time in one chapter of our life is over and a new one will begin, so embrace the seasons of change!