Ever since we were young we always wanted to be first. These included being first in line, first to finish your test, first place in a competition, and the list goes on and on. At a young age we become so competitive and it is something that is like an instinct we can not turn off. But, I can tell you something that is way better than winning any award.
The thing that is way better than winning any award is watching someone else you love accomplish their goals and do something they never thought they would be able to do. This past week I had the privilege of traveling to Indianapolis, Indiana with my boyfriend because he was interviewing for an award. Now, he has one many awards in his past, but nothing quite like this. This award is given to one FFA member out of close to 650,000 members. The award looked at members businesses in agriculture and they were judged on applications and interviews. He thought that he did not have any chance because he only had older equipment and very small profit margins. We drove 12 hours down to Indianapolis and he had to go to different luncheons and interviews which made for long days. And once they were done there was nothing to do but wait.
It came to the award ceremony and I was very excited to find out the results, he was a tad bit nervous, but he was not too bad because he knew he was not going to win. I never gave up hope because I know how great his project was and how hard he worked to get where he was today. It came down to the moment that all the finalists and families were waiting for.
"Your 2016 Star in Agribusiness is...." The next thing I knew my boyfriend's name was announced and I broke down in tears. I broke down in tears because I could see how over joyed he was to win, and I knew that his hard work paid off. All the late nights in the field, the extra hours to make sure everything was done right, and all the times that nothing seems to go right worked. There is nothing better than watching someone you love achieve their goals because you have seen day in and day out how hard they have had to work to achieve them. There is nothing better than that long hug of congrats and being thanked for your support. Watching people that deserve something is so rewarding because it makes you believe that there is good in the world. Good things do happen to good people.
So the next time someone asks how it feels like to win this or to achieve that, I am going to tell them that it does not come close to the times I get to watch the people I love succeed and achieve their goals.
