Emily Blaue, VP

I remember being in the third grade, dreading each day of school knowing that no matter how much I willed that day, or that school year to go by faster, it never failed to drag on and on. Now as a freshman in college, I can’t believe how fast the first half of the semester has gone. Not only have I finished some of my classes already, I’ve also done what I had once thought impossible: taken a college midterm.

For some of us, the school year or even just the year in general, seems to get slower and slower while we anxiously await the next holiday, shopping trip or FFA event While this might seem true, we often forget that time itself is a force to be reckoned with. The interesting thing about time is that it is something that can only be taken and used, rather than given back. How we use the time we have been given is up to us just like the opportunities that are presented to us through our FFA careers.

One of my favorite stories is that of the Greek God Caerus, who was the personification of opportunity, luck and favorable moments. Caerus was known to be mischievous and quick, yet easily caught by the hair hanging over the front of his face. But once he had passed by, if you missed his front hair, you could never again grasp him, the back of his head being bald. The moment of action is gone with his hair and an opportunity not fully taken advantage of cannot be recovered.

What a great representation of how we must approach opportunities! Within our FFA careers we will be faced with many opportunities. These chances for success range from contests to making networking to even learning experiences. We must grasp the front hair of the opportunity per say or we will miss it as it passes us. Rarely are we ever given another chance to take that same opportunity. While we might be wishing this year to go by faster and faster and wishing for that sweet feeling of freedom, we must remember to not let opportunities pass us while we are wishing them away. We must grab the opportunity as it approaches and embrace it with full confidence of reaching success.