For those of you that do not know, FFA is a club found in Middle and High schools across the United States that give students access to agriculturally based learning. However, agriculture and FFA sometimes get a bad rap. You see, although agriculture is essential to the lives of everyone on Planet Earth, many believe that the people behind their food are the uneducated of the world. That is simply not the case.

I grew up in towns and subdivisions (basically neighborhoods in the middle of corn fields) and had little interest in agriculture until my family moved to the country before my freshman year of high school. However, because I was interested in forestry, I took an introductory class. The next year, I joined FFA-and my life will never be the same.

One of the most common misconceptions about FFA is that it is only for students that want to be farmers. While that is the case for many of the students, it is not so for everyone. The FFA program provides contests and courses ranging from mechanics to medical science and everything in between. FFA is where I got a start- and figured out that I wanted to go into Communications.

My favorite contests were the public speaking contests. The thrill of being in front of a panel of judges coming up with a speech on the fly was a bit of a high for me. I have no doubt that this and similar contests are what drove me to find my passion in communications. My friends enjoyed things such as plant science demonstrations and agricultural mechanics. The variety of available options suited almost every student in my chapter.

I was also granted leadership opportunities that took me above and beyond where I ever thought I could go. In fact, one of my positions is the reason I got into writing in the first place. It eventually led to a contest in which I was blessed to compete in nationally.

However, FFA is much more than a club to contest in or a place to hang out. It is also a tool that teaches students--no matter what their background--about how their food, clothes, and homes are provided. There is a saying that every person should thank a farmer 3 times a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, there is much more than that to agriculture. I learned about how cotton and wool are produced to make clothes and how trees become homes. The world of agriculture is much more vast than many originally think.

The things I learned during my FFA career will stick with me forever. I was able to learn so much about the outside world through studying plants, animals, and the people who grow them. There is much to be learned through the labor of farmers and the other people involved in agriculture that raise the food that ends up on my plate. I also developed relationships with peers and my wonderful adviser that will last a lifetime. I still get a warm, fuzzy, familiar feeling when I look back on my days in the Ag room. Being an FFA student changed my life.