If you’ve ever worn corduroy, you know it doesn’t breathe well. Regardless of the discomfort in pretty much any season, my favorite piece of clothing is a corduroy jacket. This jacket is nothing fancy, a plain design, blue, with two appliques and a small amount of embroidery, but out of all my clothes, it has started the most conversations. The FFA jacket linked me to people across the country, both members and alumni. This jacket has been described as a brand, it marks the wearer in such a way that they will always be proud of the organization it represents.
I joined FFA for one reason only: I wanted to show pigs. My mom’s stipulation was that I switch from 4-H to FFA so that I could use our school’s barn. After my first meeting, I came home and told my mom that I wanted to quit because this club was so disorganized. Thank goodness she convinced me to give it another shot.
I remained skeptical of FFA until I attended the state convention my freshman year. At convention, we had to attend “sessions” which combine motivational speakers, small performances, and awards ceremonies. I went to my first session without a clue as to the experience I was in for. That Thursday night in May I fell in love with FFA. As I listened to that year's state reporter give her retiring address, I finally saw FFA not for what it was at my school, but the potential it had to be something so amazing and impactful. From there, I went on to take leadership positions in my chapter and district, but at the moment all I knew was that I wanted to make the full potential of FFA a reality for my school.
FFA became my world, I made lifelong friendships with people who live across the state, and even across the country from me. There is something inexplicable that bonds FFA members together, perhaps it is the shared values, the determination to never give up, and to do our best to serve others. Like most organizations, the FFA has a creed, a statement of beliefs held by the members, but perhaps few are as well known or impactful as The FFA Creed. FFA members truly mean what they say when they "believe in the future of agriculture with a faith born not of words but of deeds."
My time in the FFA showed me that it's more than just a club for high schoolers. The structure of FFA is unique in its student-led design, but it is the people who make FFA so different. This organization is full of students, advisors, and alumni who truly believe in the values laid out in the motto, “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.” The people I’ve met and the experiences I’ve had showed me that the reserved, almost anti-social person I was in middle school didn’t have to be me as I moved forward in life. FFA pulled me out of my shell and forced me to be ready to embrace the world around me. FFA is not only “changing the world starting at home,” it prepares students to interact in a much larger world. For that, I will be forever thankful.
