When we are little, we are told to always follow our dreams. Everyone’s dreams look a little different, but the summer of 2006 my only dream was to catch a peacock. During two weeks at the Blacktail Ranch, a dude ranch nestled deep in Montana’s Rocky Mountains, I tried everything my 6-year-old brain could think of to reach my dream. I tried outrunning them, sneak-attacking them, lassoing them, and I even tried trapping them in a corner! Nothing worked. As we were getting ready to leave the ranch Tag, the ranch owner finally took pity on me. He got a bucket of feed from the barn, brought it to me and told me to wait calmly and quietly. Sure enough, soon the peacocks were flocking around me, and I finally got to live out my dream of petting a peacock.

Fall is such a promising time in the FFA. Classes have just started up and as FFA members we are tasked with figuring out what we want to do with the rest of the year. Just like 6-year-old Shelby had a dream of catching a peacock, we also need to dream dreams that will propel us through this new-year in FFA.

The first step is figuring out what your dream is. A great place to look for ideas you want to accomplish is our website, www.ffa.org. There, you will find links to all the amazing career development events, leadership development events, camps, trips, proficiencies and so much more that are available in our organization. With all the options available, I have no doubt that you will quickly find one that you can make into a dream worth chasing!