Brenden Kleiboeker, President

“Home is not where we are in life, but what we make of where we are in life.”

This line was the basis of my speech for this year’s sGreenhand Motivational Conferences. However, I think it is important for each of us to reflect upon. “Home is not where we are in life, but what we make of where we are in life.” Many of us face different challenges in life. For myself, it was basketball in third grade. I enjoyed playing basketball for Upward during elementary school and was ecstatic to play on my school team for the first time. I practiced at home in my driveway and didn’t even think I was too bad in practice at school. However, once I got to the game, the same thing happened time after time. The ball was stolen from me. I shot- thump off the floor, clank off the rim- or the worst- no sound as I shot an airball. By the time we got to our first tournament, my coach didn’t even play me. In fact, he played members of the girls team on the boys team before myself. How embarrassing! I stuck it out for the season but knew that basketball was not the right place for me. That is when my parents enrolled me in 4-H, and I made some of my very best friends that I still have today. I started showing pigs, a passion I continue today. Luckily for me, my parents realized there was a problem, and helped me. We all have different problems in our lives, and different people to help us. Maybe it’s a coach, teacher, advisor or counselor. It is vital that we listen to other people’s advice, and even swallow our pride sometimes.

FFA members, none of us are in a place we cannot get out of. We are each provided with new opportunities and people to help us. As we go throughout our lives, let us remember, “Home is not where we are in life, but what we make of where we are in life.”