Personal Narrative: How FFA Changed My Life

I have been involved in many activities through my years at FCHS. All of those activities have taught me life skills and furthered me as a person. Three that have impacted me the most are FFA, Track and Field, and Band.

Being a part of FFA has completely changed the course of my life. It is because of this amazing organization that I have learned to be service minded. Helping others has become the biggest goal I want to achieve in my lifetime. I want to leave a mark on the world and change it for the better. With the experience I have gained so far, an imminent change I want to make is to feed the world population by the year 2050. In 2050 the USDA reports that the agricultural industry will not be able to provide enough food to sustain the predicted world population of 9.7 billion people. This would mean potentially millions of people would become food insecure and not have adequate availability to a food supply to maintain a healthy diet. This is a very

The California Future Farmers of America (FFA) is an organization “committed to the individual student, [by] providing a path to achievement in premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education (“National FFA Organization, 2016). These goals are the driving force behind the California FFA as they reveal their most important assets: people and relationships. The structure of the California FFA is extremely organized, operating like an efficient machine, the key components of this student-run organization are their complex combination of vertical and lateral structuring, as well as their philosophy to create a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their leadership skills.

Future Farmers of America (FFA) is the nation’s largest youth organization that steers students in a direction of career success and premier leadership. Like most organizations FFA is very conscious of making career success and leadership their goals for students, so why might FFA be the best option for the students? This organization highly impacts students because it is an inter-curricular activity instead of an extracurricular activity. FFA is an organization well known across the country. This organization is perceived to just be available for farm and ranch kids, but this is open to help all students. It is a long-standing tradition of honesty, strong worth ethic and fairness. It provides numerous

However, I looked back to actually reflect what could make me happy in life and realized I did not need to go far in foreign countries to make a difference in the world. This realization hit me when my environmental science teacher suggested the class to volunteer and help plant a prairie by the Telge science center. Automatically, I was hooked. I brought my sisters along and planted near the science center where the district placed FFA livestock shows. Incidentally, I was surprised to make a difference to a place I was familiar to and all I had to do was open myself to helping others. As an agricultural teacher, I could continue learning over the several breeds of livestock, modern technology, beneficial insects and plants within the environment, because the proximity of nature will always be around me. I didn’t even need to leave the state or even the district to make scientific and environmental

Freshman year of high school- the year of new experiences - new friends, new teachers, new failures. On top of all the stressful decisions that come with entering high school, students are expected to join clubs which interest them. Futures Farmers of America, FFA, is one the of these clubs. By joining this club students will learn the skills necessary to become a successful leader. While learning to become leaders, students will conquer their fears and weaknesses , as well as, learning to exploit their strengths. They learn the vital skill of time management, and the value and use of teamwork. Overall the benefits which FFA offers students is impossible to deny.

In response to the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which expelled Native Americans from their homes, President Andrew Jackson said, “It will separate the Indians from immediate contact with settlements of whites; free them from the power of the States; enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions; will retard the process of decay, which is lessening their numbers,” (Jackson). It’s safe to say that Jackson proved to be a bad prophet. Almost two hundred years later, the “first Americans” now possess only a fraction of American land and face a litany of struggles. Of course, the demise of Native American culture and influence didn’t happen suddenly, but was a result of hundreds of years of oppression. Though European colonialism was a factor in Native American genocide, a critical analysis of specific American policies in the 19th century is crucial to understand how we got where we are today. Ultimately, a series of government actions that encouraged American settlement of the west created a snowball effect that drove American Indians to near extinction. The settlement of the American west had serious harmful implications on Native Americans through forced migration westward, theft of Indian land, and a series of wars with white settlers.

FFA. Future Farmers of America. These four words mean more than cows and plows. It's leadership skills. It's growing as an individual. It's becoming the person you thought wouldn't come of yourself. When you see the national blue and corn gold, (the official colors of FFA) you feel a sense of being welcomed. This organization is not just a group of farm kids that wear jeans and boots

During high school I experienced many up’s and down’s. Many times it was unclear where I belonged and I struggled with clinical depression and thoughts of self-doubt. It was my agriculture teachers that created a welcoming environment in the classroom that helped me to feel safe and valued. It is because of these teachers that I have grown into the adult and leader I am today. My agriculture classes were my favorite classes of the day because I felt passionate about the various topics we were learning about. When I would go home I loved teaching my family about everything I had learned and it felt great to teach my aunts and uncles about new topics that they were unaware of. Over the summer I interned with the New Jersey Farm Bureau and was tasked with attending county fairs all over the state in order to share the story of agriculture and New Jersey Farm Bureau. To prepare for these county fairs I had to research and retain information about the Farm Bureau and important topics in agriculture. It was important that I was able to convey this information in a clear and concise manner in order to draw people into the booth. Because of these conversations that occurred I was able to entice many people into joining the Farm Bureau. It is because of my passion for agriculture and my desire to educate others that I am dedicated to becoming an

This goal became so heavy in my life that I forgot to ask myself throughout high school what else I wished to accomplish. I focused on it so much that it consumed every day of my life. I did not go to parties or hang out with my friends much. I spent my free time working on speeches and training my show animals so that my name might be called one more time and people could know who I was. Now do not get me wrong I loved every minute of meeting new people, making memories, and expanding my comfort zone. I lived for the late nights and the early mornings that followed. It was on these days that my love and passion for the FFA and the agriculture industry grew. When my

Last school year, I joined FFA. I mainly joined it to get out of band since my parents wouldn't let me leave the band unless I joined another extra-curricular activity. I had a choice to make, it was either I join FFA and try something new, or I suffer from the band the rest of high school. I believe I made the right choice since FFA has been an exciting experience. I have been working hard to keep my birds alive and stay on top of my schoolwork, but my parents can't see it. With all this hard work that has been put in, I felt underappreciated and given too many chores.

Everybody has memories they will never forget. The first of mine is playing baseball when I was six years old. My dad had always played sports and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Baseball was my dream at a young age and it all started with the Tigers. I’ll always remember stepping onto the field for the first time and feeling the excitement rush through me. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to be the team’s starting catcher. I liked the feeling of being in command behind the plate and felt like I had some sort of control over the game. I don’t remember a whole lot about the first game, but I do remember my first hit. I can tell you that I’ve never felt so excited in my life as I connected with the ball and began running to first base. I knew that made my dad extremely happy.

In my first year as a Freshman FFA member I had no idea what to expect in the FFA, yet I was challenged and excited to participate because I saw how much the organization had changed my brother. I was driven to be the first one to say the FFA creed to my advisor on the first day of school, and who knew this personal drive was just the beginning of my FFA career and the endless opportunities provided to me in the past three years. As a freshman I was elected a Greenhand officer and was able to attend my first National FFA Convention. I was taken under my brother’s wing, and he was able to show me the pathways and his passion for the FFA, thus I began to love the organization more and more as the year progressed. My Freshman year I tried out

I was born in Independence, MO on November 14, 1999. I was born into a sports family. My great grandpa and grandpa started teaching me baseball as soon as I could hold one. My great grandma and grandpa babysat me while my Mom was at work. He would sit on the floor and roll the ball to me. When it got warmer, we would go outside and play on his deck. I have loved baseball ever since. Sports have always been my passion. I play baseball and basketball. I started playing basketball my freshman year of high school and started playing baseball as soon as I was ready. There was never a time in my life where I wanted to stop playing sports, never once. I have never had a coach that has made me want to quit playing. If I had a coach that hated me, I paid attention to myself and didn’t let him get to my head about playing the game. I am going to try so hard to go as far as possible with baseball. I want to play baseball for the rest of my life. It’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was in middle school. I’ve known what I wanted to do with my life for the longest time. Sports are “my everything” and

In these event my life has been completely altered. Whether it was through my personality or physical things. I cannot complain about these events because as far as I know, they have changed my life for the better.