As Thanksgiving soon approaches I have started to look back on my life to see what I am thankful for and I have a lot to be thankful for: food, an education, health, happiness, and the list goes on. But being a college freshmen I have to look back to my years in middle school and high school. I realized there was one thing, one subject, one organization that got me through those years; FFA.

The National FFA Organization has been around since 1928, but the organization has been in my heart since 2010. Unlike most people, schools, and chapters I had to the opportunity to join when I was a seventh grader after having my first agriculture class. From there I was hooked and I absorbed myself into the organization for the next six years.

With FFA, I discovered so much about myself and what I was capable of. I discovered my passion for agriculture and the industry. I discovered my ability to take lead and how to be professional. It has prepared me to understand the feelings of winning and or loosing, which has made me a better person in the long run. FFA has also given me so many opportunities like to travel around the state or the nation. FFA has prepared me better for my future than any other extra curricular event I have ever participated in.

So thank you to the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 for getting vocational education its start and thus eventually the FFA.

Thank you to the blue jacket for keeping me cold when it was cold and hot when it was hot, but making me look professional and cool at the same time.

Thank you to the alumni that gave us their time and wisdom to help prepare us for CDEs (career development events), gave us advice, and was there for guidance when needed.

Thank you to my fellow members for the laughs, journeys, and friendships. FFA has helped me to create deeper bonds with people then what I would have ever thought I would and friendships outside my own chapter.

Thank you to my advisors you have encouraged and help to me to discover my passions. You have given me the guidance to take opportunities, to better myself, and take risks in life. Your occupation is often under valued by others, but know that what what you are doing is giving wings to future agriculturalists and agriculture educators.

I encourage all who have access to an FFA chapter to take a chance with it like I did. Its not all about "sows, plows, and cows," but a chance to grow personally, find new skills and build them up, and experience a better understanding of agriculture and its importance to all our lives.

I will admit when my senior year came around I was ready to move on with my life and FFA. But being away from my chapter and advisors this first semester of college has made me miss our daily interactions. FFA will always be a part of me as it is deeply rooted into my heart. I'm looking forward to days of being an active alumni to pass on my wisdom and knowledge that I have gained from my experiences to new members. I am forever thankful for the FFA.

Forever Blue and Gold.