It was the 2016 Summer Olympics, and I was sitting on my couch watching the snippets of the throwing events. As the shot-putters and discus throwers threw unfathomable distances, I was determined to try track and field, more emphasis on field, during my junior year of high school.

Fast forward to spring 2017. The first day of practice came around, and I found myself running laps around our school. “What is this,” I thought. I signed up to throw shot put and discus, not run the mile. As the season progressed, I slowly realized the importance of running was to bring up my agility and speed when throwing.

At my first track meet, my coach told me I was going to do a half spin when throwing discus and glide when I was throwing shot put. And let me tell you, I did awful — 20 feet worse on discus than in practice and 5 feet worse on shot put! This was due to one thing — the technique. You see, I wasn’t comfortable with it. It didn’t fit the way I threw, and I had little practice with the techniques I used. Although I wasn’t doing the greatest, I didn’t want to just power throw. I didn’t want to be different from everyone else. I wanted so badly to be successful with the technique. However, during my senior year I realized it didn’t matter. If I didn’t use technique and just threw, I was successful.

FFA members, throughout our FFA careers we must be willing to try new techniques, ideas, contests and opportunities. Still, we won’t always be the best. Sometimes by realizing where we fall in technique we can realize what needs work and build on our skills. Try something new, push yourself, grow from your failures, but never be afraid to just throw.

Doughnuts. No, I am not referring to the pastries, but rather to the spare tire that comes with your car — the one that looks like it belongs on a bicycle. I recently had a flat tire and had to get it fixed. To get my tire repaired, I had to put the doughnut on my car so that I could get to the tire shop. When I say, “I had to change my tire,”I really mean supervise while a couple of the other state officers actually changed it. After the doughnut was on, we headed to the tire shop. Keep in mind, though, that you can’t drive more than 50 miles per hour with the spare. Therefore, I carefully drove to the shop and eventually got my new tire.

While most people would look at the doughnut and think that it’s useless, ultimately, that doughnut is what gets you from having a stationary car to one that can hit the road. Many of you are participating on Career Development or Leadership Development Event teams right now. Some of you have been dreaming of being on the team you are on right now, while some of you feel the exact opposite. You might be the youngest one on your team, you might have needed to switch teams last minute, or maybe you are repeatedly the drop score for your team, but that’s okay. We all feel like doughnuts sometimes. Often, you are the one that makes a difference for your team. You are the one who will work hard, keep your head down and at the end of the day be the one who pushes your team to advance to state, break a record or place one rank higher than last week. Without you, your team would be stationary. With you, though, your team can transform into something you never imagined.

When a car has a flat, the doughnut becomes the most important tire. And when your teams face obstacles, you can be the most influential member.

With Career Development Events and Leadership Development events well under way, it is easy to focus on what went well or what we could have done better this season. While self-reflection is a good technique for improving and working to better ourselves, we should also take a step back to understand that the goal of contests is growth.

Don’t get me wrong. I like winning, but it’s not always in moments of success that we develop or grow. During my sophomore year of high school, I was competing on the agricultural issues team. Our team placed first at area and then as alternate at districts. Needless to say, I was heartbroken because our goal of competing at state had come to an abrupt end. I quickly began exploring other options and landed on submitting a research project (in partnership with one of my Ag Issues teammates) within Agriscience Research – Animal Systems examining different types of filler feeds.  With our agri-science project, we placed first at state, applied to go to nationals and placed second overall!

It would have been very easy to take the loss and end my contest season.  Instead, I used it as a chance to learn, and then move forward to seek additional opportunities. During this project, I learned that I enjoyed and respected research so much that I am looking to pursue it in college. Sometimes, it is the less-than-stellar moments that help us most in the long run!

Filling a petri dish wouldn’t seem to be the hardest task. However, with no prior information on how to properly fill them, you are more than likely to make a mess. This is a lesson I learned the hard way.

One afternoon while filling practice petri dishes for an end-of-the-year chemistry project, I created a giant mess. The substance you pour in, agar mixture, has a very runny substance but also sets up very quickly, requiring speedy pouring. I had prepped my mixture, petri dishes and was ready to go! I began the process.

Plate one — a little full, but okay.

Plate two — not enough mixture, but these were just practice plates.

Plate three — only the slightest bit of mixture made it in, and the rest went all over the table.

I quickly scrambled to move the empty dishes and begin cleaning up the mess. After helping me, Mrs. O’Donnell, my chemistry teacher, told me, “You have to commit to the pour!” As a result of being hesitant to mess up the pouring, scared to commit and be confident in my abilities, I created the mess I hoped to avoid.

As my friends and I continued throughout the rest of senior year, we often joked about “committing to the pour” in various situations. However, I believe this simple science lesson can apply to us all. As we enter the grind of contest season, it is easy to not want to step outside of our comfort zone, doubt our abilities, or not give our all due to other involvements. In these instances though, our true character is revealed. In all you do, commit to the pour.

“Every failurebrings with it the seedof an equivalent success.”
– Napolean Hill

During my time in the blue jacket, I have had the pleasure of competing in many Career Development  and Leadership Development Events. Every year I learned a new key component of agriculture, traveled to some really awesome places, and learned some very intense lessons about myself. It’s interesting in that looking back, I remember the wins, the insane celebrations and joy they brought. In reflection, the losses seem more vivid than the wins, though. I can still tell you the primary reason for not winning state my freshman year in poultry; it was because of a missing breast meat in a carcass class that I didn’t see. Although that failure hurt, it wasn’t final. I had many more opportunities to succeed and used it as a seed. As you enter the spring season of competing, I hope that you learn as much as possible about the area you choose to pursue. Still, do not forget along the way that this is teaching you more than just knowledge and skill. This season of your life is showing you how much dedication, heart and drive you possess. Enjoy the early mornings and the relationships you build with your teammates. Take chances, learn from failures and mistakes, and celebrate the joys of successes. Best of luck this spring!

Thomas Jefferson doubled the size of the United States with the purchase of Louisiana.

Abraham Lincoln freed slaves.

Dwight D. Eisenhower ended segregation in schools and the military.

All presidents of the United State of America, these American icons created a legacy for themselves and changed our nation in a way that is remembered and evident to this day.

In school I always dragged my feet on the way to history class. It was always my least favorite class due to all the dates, names and events that I had to memorize and pronounce. My history teacher, Mr. Jenkins, would always yell at me, “Smile a little more, Derks!” I would respond with a sassy half smile and an eye roll as I took my seat. But, what I quickly learned is that history doesn’t go away as we graduate high school or finish a class; in fact, it followed me all the way to my agricultural education class.

In 1928, the Future Farmers of America (FFA) was organized in Kansas City, Missouri.

In 1933, the blue corduroy jacket was adopted as the official dress for the FFA.

In 1969, women were allowed to be members of FFA.

History is a valuable part of who we are and where we come from. Whether in the form of a president’s legacy or the roots of the National FFA Organization, history is remembered for years to come.

So I want to ask you, what will your legacy be? How will you be remembered?

Do you want to be remembered as someone who sat on the sidelines, afraid to try something new?  Or, do you want to be remembered as the person who reached his or her goals? Opportunities abound for us in the next few months. From participating in a career development event or a leadership development event to applying for awards and academies and attending State FFA Convention, we have so many activities and opportunities to take part in through FFA. We have the ability to build our legacy into anything we want. Our legacies don’t have to be as grand as the forefathers of our country, but they can be just as powerful with simple acts like talking to the new kid at school, running for an officer position, or volunteering to stay after and help clean up the classroom. The decisions and choices that we make every single day affect our legacy. It affects how we are remembered.

So right now, let’s take out a piece a paper and write down three goals or things we want to accomplish. How can those words be turned into actions that will positively define our legacy?

FFA members, you are destined for greatness. Each one of us has a unique and powerful legacy that is just waiting for us to initiate. It is our jobs to shine a light on who we are and what we stand for. Don’t be afraid of yours, because even the smallest of actions turns into the greatest of impacts.

Missouri FFA members, you don’t have to wait to cultivate tomorrow. Make it happen today. Do it now, and grow your legacy!

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. As I sat in the middle of my geometry class my sophomore year of high school, the day seemed to be dragging on and on. That day in particular was smack dab in the middle of National FFA Week, and at my school we had themes for each day. It was Official Dress Day, so that morning after ripping two pairs of pantyhose, I finally got suited up in my full official dress. As my teacher stood in front of the class saying something about triangles, all I could think about was how I could not wait until I got out of my blue corduroy jacket.

Now, three years later, I would give almost anything to go back to my sophomore year and relive all of my blue corduroy jacket memories. We are at the point in the year where school starts seeming hectic. Between snow days and school days, you might feel the pressure to get things done as quickly as possible. With tests, career development events, trips and homework, I’m sure you can’t wait for time to fly by. I know I used to wish the exact same thing. But as you participate in this year’s National FFA Week, take a moment to let time stand still. Enjoy FFA week and everything it has to offer. Soak it in. Because one day, you’ll be taking off your blue corduroy jacket for the final time.

I can still remember the excitement and anticipation that followed a significant snowfall during my years growing up in rural Missouri. As a child, my siblings and I would spend our snow days playing outside having snowball fights, building a family of snowmen, making forts and sledding. We stayed outside until our fingers were numb. Back then, the snow was an opportunity. As I grew up, snow became less of an opportunity and more of a nuisance. The cold and ice meant that chores were harder, I couldn’t see any of my friends as driving could be dangerous, plans that you had been making for months could be cancelled and going outside meant bundling up only to be cold after a few minutes in the elements.

Recently, my dislike of winter reached a new level. This winter has been the worst one I can remember.  I can’t count the number of plans that I’ve had to cancel this winter, the times I’ve slipped due to ice and I’ve been cold walking between destinations. The other day while complaining about how terrible winter is and how I was beginning to feel like winter would never end, I saw a quote that said, “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.” This struck me because it doesn’t apply only to weather.

In FFA there are things that we don’t always enjoy doing but can take us to bigger and better places. Filling out record books, proficiencies, or applications, or studying for Career Development or Leadership Development Events can be tedious and exhausting. However, they are important. Those record books can lead to recognition on all of the hard work that you have put into your SAE and allow you to get different degrees in FFA. Studying for your CDE can bring you new friends and the chance to exercise your competitive spirit. LDEs teach you to lead from where you are and give you experience that will prove invaluable throughout your life. Proficiencies allow you to share the hard work you have put into your SAE with others. Applications allow you the chance to travel with other budding agriculturalists to new and exciting places, where you will make memories and friends to last you a lifetime. If we only focus on the annoying things about winter, we will miss spring and its opportunities. Instead, let’s spend the rest of this winter working hard to prepare for spring and its bounty.

Join me in being adaptive to new ideas and projects, from a new career development event or even a little line dancing. When something enjoyable comes your way, why not try it? Anything is made possible with a little action and a positive attitude, even learning how to eat every meal with chopsticks. People are willing to help see you through, so take that journey.

Back in October, I embarked on a journey that will always have a place in my heart. I met the sweetest people, tried the most interesting food and gained some incredible experiences. This trip was an exchange program provided by Missouri State University to Taiwan’s NCHU. During my eight-day journey I hiked mountains, made my own tea, met local farmers and explored many of the vast agricultural industries on the small island. On the last day, we went to a world flower exposition. As we were looking around, I stumbled across a tent where the sign read, DIY Grass Animals. Instantly, we were sucked in by smiling faces and warm gestures, greeting us in a language we did not understand. Our task looked simple; all we had to do was weave this dried grass into a deer (which stands for good luck). Right? What happenned was a table of laughter as we watched our group leader show us the next step, and as we repeated what we thoughthe did (not always what he had done). The laughter showed the connection we had with simple actions, not words. Together we were happy because we were learning and trying.

Join me in being adaptive to new ideas and projects, from a new career development event or even a little line dancing. When something enjoyable comes your way, why not try it? Anything is made possible with a little action and a positive attitude, even learning how to eat every meal with chopsticks. People are willing to help see you through, so take that journey.