Here We Go Again: Coffee, Packing, and a Highly Publicized Plane Wreck

Hey there, blog world.

Lemme say first of all, that I have missed this blog, although I didn't realize that until this week.  I love writing here and I have a bajillion ideas of new things I'm going to do this time around on here.  You'll be introduced to one of them at the end of this post.  Awesome.

So, as far as studying goes, I'm not seriously doing any until I get back to Alaska, June 16.  What am I doing until then, you ask?  Well, I'm glad you did, 'cuz I'm dying to tell you. :)

I've thought about a study abroad program for a long time, but there's something you should know about me: I'm kind of a chicken.  But this spring I found myself living in Logan (instead of out of a suitcase, like I'd planned) and took the first step by going to a study abroad fair.  There I got a million different flyers and booklets on a million different study abroad programs- quite overwhelming.  I then painstakingly compiled them into a ginormous spreadsheet and narrowed my options.  Long story short, after being denied two awesome internships, I found myself looking at a few different programs...and considered just going home to Alaska like the scaredy-cat I am.  But I was listening to Harry Potter on tape at the time, and heard my fictional idol, Albus Dumbledore (who else?) give me some sound advice:

"Let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."

Semester at Sea it is, then.  I'll be leaving on Wednesday: starting in the Bahamas, then embarking on this awesome ship, the MV Explorer, and traveling to Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and Trinidad.  While on the boat I'm taking Spanish and a class called "Food Safety and Security," which is really ag-based, so I'm psyched about that.  I'll also be taking a lecture course called "Engineering a New Tomorrow"...I'm just not quite sure what that involves.  I'm really excited, but also really nervous.  As a family friend pointed out to me recently, I don't know another soul going.  But this is a good thing.  It will really test my ability to be social and make friends.  It will also test my ability to be an example of my faith...since I will not be in Utah and will most likely be the only LDS student aboard.

So, for the next month I'll be doing that.  I have absolutely no idea whether or not I'll update this blog.  The only studying for National Office I'll really be doing is reading, as far as I know right now.  And the experience will be study enough, I'm sure.

I've got a few books left over from last year that I either never read or never finished.  I started one of them tonight, because I got really sick and tired of organizing and packing up all my stuff (moving really sucks).  The book is called "Brown Like Coffee," Morgan Parker recommended it to me last year.  It definitely isn't a leadership book, but it's interesting.  It's especially interesting for me, because it's all about living a Christ-centered life and discipleship.  Not that I don't believe in that- it's just a different vocabulary and way of looking at things.  So far I enjoy it...not sure how helpful it will be, but it makes me think, so that's good.  (And it has already quoted Albus Dumbledore in the first chapter.)  And I enjoy highlighting and writing in books once again. :)

Next up to read: Good to Great and Resonate, both suggested by a new friend, Samuel Cornthwaite...and a few other cheap ones I picked up at DI just for fun.  I can't think of their names right now and am too lazy to go find them.

Alright, this is getting long, so I'll wrap up.  As the last part of this entry, I'll introduce one of the new things I want to do in my posts, and that's blogging about people that inspire me...whether or not I've ever met them.

This first person is one of those in the "people who inspire me who are also complete strangers" categories.  Her name is Stephanie Nielson.  She is a popular LDS "mommy-blogger," but she also has an incredible life story which includes getting in a near-fatal plane crash, surviving, and going back to a new life as a changed person.  I am an avid follower of her blog, The Nie Nie Dialogues, and you can read her story there.  I watched a 20/20 special on it tonight, and even though I was already familiar with the story, I was impressed once again.  I just kept seeing pictures of her (before her body was burned) and thinking about how gorgeous she was.  And- how gorgeous she is.  She really exudes self-confidence in a way that impresses the heck out of me.  I wish that I could be as secure with myself and my abilities as she is.  And I've caught myself thinking that of course she is so strong, she's older than me. (Probably because she has four kids.)  But she's only 29.  So, not a good excuse, Rachel.  I'm so glad for people, even stranger bloggers, who inspire me.

Who inspires you?


Preview for whenever my next blog post is: watch out for incredible international experiences, a thank you shout out to all my supporters (already!), a post about the role religion plays in my adventure, and a post about a favorite friend who bears the name of a Peanuts character...you know who you are. :)

-Rachel

Final Essay

Here's a version of what I wrote yesterday...more polished and essay-like.  l promise this is my last post here.  Enjoy!

What I’ve Learned

A few days ago one of my cousins shared a Dashboard Confessional song with me.  The song, ridiculously titled “Carve Your Heart Out Yourself,” was as depressing as its title and I hated it, but for some reason one of the lines got stuck in my head for the next few days:

“Man, it takes a silly girl to lie about the dreams she had…man, it takes a lonely girl to wish that she had never dreamed at all.”

Every time that line went through my head, I couldn’t help but think about how it applied to my life. 

In the twelve months and over 450 hours I spent preparing to run for National Office, I learned so much.  I systematically went through my entire life and philosophy, discovering who I am and what I stand for.  I can now say that there is probably no job-interview-type question that I can’t answer with confidence.

I improved my public speaking skills, both prepared and extemporaneous, and I worked hard to become more effective in teaching students through facilitation.  I read countless books on leadership and made weekly and monthly goals for self-improvement. 

Finally, I learned everything there is to know about FFA, the agricultural education system, and current agricultural issues.  When the process for running for Nationals was over, I thought this knowledge was pretty useless...but even if I don’t ever apply this knowledge again in my life, it sure has helped me in the Orientation to Agricultural Education class!

I thought that all the learning I would experience would be in preparation to run for National Office, but I was wrong.  The most important thing I learned from the process- perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned thus far in my life- came after the convention.

Failing to become a National FFA Officer was the biggest disappointment I’ve ever experienced.  And experiencing disappointment is not something I’m used to.  I’ve always been of the opinion that hard work leads to results, and my hypothesis has never been proven incorrect until now. 

Now…I’ve learned how life can be unfair.  I’ve learned that I can work as hard as a possibly can, and perform as well as I possibly can, and still not get what I want.  And that’s a hard thing to deal with.

For a while after National Convention, I never wanted to talk about the results.  That might have been my silly way of lying about my dreams.  I was too disappointed to talk about the good that came out of National Convention, and I was afraid that the people I loved would be disappointed in me.

Disappointment has taught me perspective.  Although I am not happy with the results of Convention, there are people in this world who are in much worse situations than I am.   It has also taught me how to be adaptable.  I am naturally a very organized person who plans out her life a year in advance.  My plans for 2011 included serving as a National FFA Officer, but now, I have an entire year with nothing on my calendar.  I am excited to fill that calendar with new adventures and learn to be more spontaneous.

Before, during and after the National Convention, I discovered what a fantastic support system I have.  I am so grateful for the friends and family that supported me in my most difficult hours.

While I was preparing for the convention, I constantly reminded myself of why I was sacrificing so much for my dreams by reading this quote by Arnold Bennett: “The real tragedy is the tragedy of the man who never in his life braves himself for his one supreme effort- he never stretches to his full capacity, never stands up to his full stature.”  I am glad that I had the opportunity to run for National Office.  It was something I was scared to do, and something that I wasn’t sure I could do-but I’m glad that I stretched myself to reach for dreams, even though those dreams weren’t fully realized.

What I learned from my experience was more than just facts and figures about agriculture and FFA.  I learned true leadership in being gracious in defeat and working to support those who are have been selected.  I learned empathy for people who have and will fail in life.  I learned perspective.  I learned the value of hard work, and I am learning how to overcome challenges.  I can't say I've learned that yet, because here I am, wondering what's next and trying not to feel like life as I knew it is now over.  I know that someday soon I'll look back on this period of life and think about how hard it was, and be grateful for the opportunity I had to learn all of this.  I'm not at that point yet, but I'm getting there slowly and surely.

I used to think that it would have been better to avoid this pain and wish that I had never applied for National Office.  But now, I am glad for the opportunity to learn.  And do I wish that I had never dreamed at all?  Definitely not. 

Training Weekend Day Dos

Hello again,
I'm on to reporting day two, before I forgot all that I learned!

Saturday began around eight and had one purpose: go through the entire selection process (minus the written multiple choice test) in one day.  And let me be the first to tell you- it was pretty grueling!  But now that I've done it all in one day, doing it in a week feels like a cinch!

So we started with the One-on-One Interviews: nine separate interviews, one after the other, five questions and ten minutes a piece.  An hour and a half of straight interviewing is pretty intense, guys! I think it did pretty well.  It's obvious doing just a brief look over my feedback that I need to work on the competencies of "teamwork," "team before self," and "adaptability and flexibility," as well as I'm sure, others.  And I just need to work on being myself, smiling, joking, and not burning out after 6 or 7 interviews.  Jessie (Geib) Vanderpoel, a former National Officer, told me to smile again and again.  She said that I looked like a National Officer when I smiled, which was awesome.  She also said she didn't believe that I did comedy improv...bummer!  I need to make sure that I am not too nervous and let my personality come out. I also need to work on compiling a good story arsenal and practicing my stories- a lot.

Next up-SAE writing.  I haven't gotten my results from this yet, so I'm really not sure how I did.  I felt good about what I did, but I'm not sure at all what the format was supposed to be.  But it was good to have an idea of what it would be like at Nationals.  I don't think SAE writing is worth many points anyhow.

I was pretty nervous for Stand and Deliver, but I feel that I did well!  The topic was program affiliation, given to Minnesota ag teachers, and I was psyched about that, since I'd just given a program affiliation speech to Jimmy and felt that I had done really well on it.  Thank goodness one of my strengths is command- I got the comment that I was a good speaker.  Awesome, I don't have to work so hard on that then!  But I still do need to work on smiling so that I don't look like an Ice Queen.  I need to be approachable and most of all, myself.  I also discovered that it's alright to end my speech early- at 4:30 or 4:40, rather than stretching it, which is great news, because that's where I usually end!  So I learned a lot but felt good about Stand and Deliver.

We had a quick break for lunch and then delved into the next section.  I started with the Writing Exercise.  I don't have my scores for this either, so I really don't know how I did.  I felt I wrote well, but I wasn't sure of the format and I also ended pretty early...so I don't know if I demonstrated my knowledge very well.  The prompt was also kind of a mixture of two hot topics, which threw me off.  So I'll have to wait and see my comments on that.

I had a short break to ponder how unprepared I felt for the next round, and then I entered a room to start my prep for faciliation.  This was one of my weakest rounds, but I'm glad I've had practice so that I am more comfortable now in what I need to spend my preparation hour on (hem hem, making better flip charts!)  The topic for the workshop was mentoring for chapter officers.  I started with a stupid puzzle piece activity.  It actually wasn't a bad activity, it made a good point, but it took me FOREVER to put the puzzle outline together, and then we couldn't find one of the pieces, which was frustrating and took up a lot of time.  The one thing I was really pleased with was my support activity, everyone seemed to really enjoy it.  My point needed work.  I was so concerned about finishing my workshop on time that I started telling students what I wanted them to know instead of asking questions, and I know I'm not supposed to do that!  Then I began introducing my application, "Mentor Man," which would have been awesome, and....they called time.  I could not believe it, I felt like I had to scrape my jaw off the floor.  I was really disappointed, but after the feedback I felt a little better.  Jessie said to have way more material than you need, and not to allow your content to get in the way of your interaction with the students, which is what they want to see!  So now I know how to change, and I have next week to test it out on Alpha Tau Alpha!

After facilitation came Round Robin Conversations.  Oh, how I hate you, Round Robin Conversations! They're so unreal, I don't like role-playing because it makes me feel fake, and oh yeah!  I don't know as much about agricultural issues as I would like to!  There are three conversations: Ag Issues, Ag Ed/American Ed Issues, and FFA Issues.  I did them in that order.  My Ag Issues conversation was decent, like a 4 or 5 out of 10.  I wasn't really happy with it, but I felt now that I had some experience with it I would do better.  My Ag Ed conversation on the other hand....a 0.  Or maybe a 1.  Guess who's doing some research on the Perkin's Technical Skills Attainment test today?  But my FFA Issues Conversation- dang!  Somehow that was a 9!  I spent my ten minute break in the hallway jumping up and down to try to stop being so nervous, and I think maybe it worked.  I felt awesome about that one.

Finally, we ended the day with the Personal Round.  This round is like the one-on-one round, but it's more...personal. They ask you the crazy, tear your heart strings type questions, such as, "Why are you running for office?" "Tell me about a time when someone questioned your character?" and "What are three of your life's goals?"  Also, it's you and all nine nominating committee members.  I can't really say anything about this round- I felt that it went fantastically well.  If I could do every round at Nationals like I did that last one, I feel like they'd have to elect me!

After the personal round we said goodbye and headed back to the Twin Cities for the night, to fly out the next morning.  I was so glad that I decided to go this camp- it really, really helped!  I feel 100 times more ready now than I was before, and I know precisely what I need to work on:

1. Being more personable in interviews- joking, laughing, smiling, being someone who is approachable.
2. Smiling during my speeches!
3. Ending strong on my speeches!
4. Knowing more (including statistics) about Agricultural Issues!
5. Directing the conversation during Round Robins
6. Focusing on students (rather than content) during facilitation and not worrying about the time.
7. Knowing more about agricultural education and American education.
8. Doing a better job of telling my stories in my one-on-one interviews.
9. Stressing teamwork and adaptability in my one-on-one interviews.
10. Being excited to tell the Nominating Committee about myself.

I'm so grateful to the volunteers who made this training weekend a success!  I'm also psyched, because Mr. Sawatzke said that his 40+ kids would be our cheering section if any of us were elected.  I told him that would more than double my cheering section. :)

I'm also really grateful that for the past week or so...I've felt so calm!  I feel like I could conquer the world, no anxiety for me!  I'm still nervous, I'll always be, but I know that I can do this.  Whether or not they elect me, I'm completely capable of being a National Officer.  Come what may, I'm ready.
Rachel

What a Weekend...

Hey all!
I am back from Minnesota!  I had a fabulous idea to blog every evening about what I had done that day, so as not to forget it...but then I realized I was exhausted every evening, and even went to bed at 9 last night...though I woke up when my roommates came home half an hour later. :)

But now that I am back, I will record all that I can remember, starting with Friday.

My Friday started at around 7, when Wyatt DeJong from South Dakota picked me up and we made our way to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.  We were met there by Katie Zenk from Minnesota, Eric Sawatzke, the Dassel-Cokato Minnesota agriculture teacher who organized the event, and two of Mr. Sawatzke's freshman students: Joel and Evan.  Then after getting our visitor passes (very fancy!) we went upstairs to a conference room with Agriculture in the Classroom coordinator Al Withers.

We first heard from Mr. Withers about the importance of agricultural literacy in society at any age.  After Mr. Withers brief remarks, we embarked on a day of presentations about agricultural issues.  Mr. Withers expected a lot of us and encouraged us to ask the presenters questions so that we could get what we needed out of each presentation, and I really appreciated that.  It forced me to be more confident!

The first meeting was about Livestock Development and Animal Agriculture Issues.  I learned quite a bit about how animal agriculture is dealing with issues raised by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).  Just learning more about these issues increases my desire to become an effective communicator for the agricultural industry!  I understand more now that agriculture- commercial, organic, small farmers and industrial farmers, farmers who support ethanol and those who don't- need to ban together to promote agriculture as a whole.  And the one great thing I learned is- I need to learn more about these types of issues so I can more effectively discuss them!

The second meeting was with the director of Dairy and Food Inspection Division and we discussed Keeping Food Safe.  We discussed how different types of salmonella infects food, and how food safety needs to come from legislation and self-policing.  I also learned about the "raw milk movement," something I didn't really know existed, and how agricultural communicators need to target the "raw milk curious" in telling the story of the scientific facts surrounding the safety (or lack there of) of raw milk.  I never even realized raw milk was so dangerous, as I grew up drinking it, and that reminds me, I need to ask my mom if she was trying to kill us all with E.coli.  :)

After a quick break, we heard from the a member of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture staff about Social Media in Today's Agriculture.  Being a communications junkie...I'd have to say this was my favorite presentation of the day!  I learned so much about how the agricultural industry is using (or isn't using!) social media to target specific audiences and to tell their story.  I loved the example used about the support Yellow Tail Wine gave to HSUS and the Facebook backlash that was the result.  It gave me more hope about the difference we can make in policy and in public perception through communication.

After that we talked about Environmental Policy and Water Quality.  This presentation was pretty interesting because of the amount of rain Minnesota had been getting in the last few days.  At one point the presenter flipped a glass vial of clear water over so that we could see how contaminated it was, and I was shocked!  I think more than anything it was good to be exposed to a different kind of agriculture and the other careers available in the environmental sciences.

Minnesota Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture ended the day with a few words of advice.  I loved hearing her story about how FFA gave her a career pathway in agriculture even though she was never a "farm kid."  I also loved one of the things she told us:

"Be readers and be leaders.  You never know who's watching."

After leaving the Department of Agriculture, we made a brief stop at the FFA Leadership Center and the Miracle of Birth Center at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.  I could only imagine what that big building looks like full of pregnant animals- but I'm sure it would be an impressive thing to see in reality sometime!

Then we headed to the University of Minnesota to eat pizza and meet with Dr. Leising about the pros and cons of program affiliation.  This was another one or my favorite parts of the day, because I felt very comfortable and confident with my knowledge of program affiliation, but also got a much better handle on why some advisors are wary of the new program.

After a stop to change out of our official dress, Jessica (who met up with us at the Department of Ag around 11) and I hopped into Wyatt's car to drive to Hutchinson High School, about an hour or so away.  We had the opportunity to talk a lot about how we had been preparing for National Office, what we enjoyed most about National Office, and what kind of FFA programs we'd been involved with in the past.  We also had the opportunity to pick Wyatt's brain about what the process at National Convention is really like- since he ran last year.  And we talked about some fun stuff- like what kind of beverages we prefer with popcorn. :)

When we arrived at Hutchinson we had an open forum discussion with local and current high school ag teachers to discuss the different hot topics for essays and stand and delivers.  I learned a lot I didn't know- like that the National FFA no longer offers that H.O. Sargent award!  I also learned a little bit about the Perkin's Technical Skills Attainment exam- enough to know that I needed to know more about that.  That became even more obvious the next day...but that story is for my next blog posting.  

After the forum discussion we had a dinner with the Minnesota FFA Alumni.  It was a great casual opportunity to meet with many different people, including FFA members, legislators, and farm bureau personnel.  I realize I need to be more proactive about getting people to talk about themselves, but I got a lot of really good advice and learned a lot from the people I met.  We stayed and visited for quite a while!

One thing I reflected on Friday night was that no matter what happens, I can make a difference and use my leadership skills in the next year, and I'm prepared to do so.  I also liked some advice from a former National Officer Candidate about the process:

"Sell yourself.  You need to act like, 'I don't need to be a National Officer, but the National FFA Organziation needs me on their National Officer team!"

I felt really good about everything that night, and still (inexplicably!) confident.  I know I need to work on my knowledge of agricultural issues, but I feel validated in that I have a good knowledge of program affiliation and the other hot topics.  

There goes Day 1.  Day 2 gets its own blog post next, so stay tuned. Also- I'm so fired up about convention! It's coming so fast, but I say bring it on! Come that week, I'll be as ready as I could hope to be.  But until then, my every spare minute is going to prep!  I only have four more hours until I've reached 400 hours.  I probably won't make it to 500, but my goal range was 300-500, so I still feel good about where I'll be.

Have a great Monday!   I get a double dose of improv tonight, so I know I will.
Rachel

I believe in being happy myself...

Yesterday was a very long day:

9:30- Creative Arts Class
10:20- Piano Practice
11:30- Piano Lesson
12:00- When I was supposed to have lunch, except I forgot to pack it...
12:30- Choir
1:30- Walked back to my car and then driving around lost in Logan
2:00- Arrived at the temple to do baptisms.  Felt some much needed peace.
3:00- Go back to the condo. Eat lunch, fold some laundry, temporarily avoid responsibility.
4:00- Search every shoe store in Logan for official dress shoes!
5:30- Arrive on campus triumphant, with two potential shoe candidates and four pairs of black nylons.  Study for thirty minutes.
6:00- Visit Scott in his new apartment, eat dinner, watch Glee!
7:00- Improv Practice
9:00- Antics Troupe Auditions.  Had to pay scrupulous attention, because people's "happiness depends on me."
12:15- Cast votes for who the two new troupe members should be.
12:30- Argued about vote results.
12:35- Went back to Scott's apartment to pick up the keys that I left there 6+ hours before.
12:45- Returned to my car and began driving back to the condo for the night.
12:47- Got pulled over by a cop because my headlight is out and I forgot to turn on my brights.  Asked for mercy because it was (techincally!) my birthday.
1:00- Back on the road.  Feeling melancholy.
1:10- Returned to the condo.  Ate a Fudgsicle because I felt crappy.
1:20- Collapse into bed to have bad dreams about dying elephants and their elephant offspring.

Today was just as stressful, if not more, and included taking my car to the shop and riding the bus onto campus, passing out improv fliers, and carrying my Minnesota luggage with me everywhere...resulting in looking like an idiot.

On my way to the airport I had some time to just sit and think, which was nice.  I also had some time to read more in my new book, Blue Jackets Gold Standards, the FFA 75th Anniversary Book, which I am really enjoying so far.  And I got to a section about the Creed, so I started going over it.

*Embarrassing Confession*
I don't really know the Creed by heart...at least, not anymore. I used to, at one time, but now the third and fourth paragraph just jumble all together in my head for some reason.

So because of this embarrassing confession, I thought I might go over the Creed in my head again and try to get it to stick.  What if someone this weekend asks me to recite it...or worse, someone at Convention!?

I stopped when I got to the last line in the third paragraph, which reads:

"[I believe] in being happy myself and playing square with those whose happiness depends upon me."

And then I thought about my melancholy last night.  What it was about anyway, I'm not exactly sure...I just felt kind of blah.  Like my life has been going by too fast and it's been to stressful, I don't know.  And then I had this stupid thought (or half a thought): "But when/if I become a National Officer-" and I was going to think, "I'll be happier," but I stopped myself and finished the sentence with "nothing will change."

What a stupid thing to think, even though I know that happiness is the key to success, and not the other way around.  Besides, life as a National Officer...would be hard!  I'd be just as stressed if not more, and I know if I don't learn to be happy now, it's not magically going to come then.

Just like when I was a state officer.  Don't get me wrong, I wanted to be a state officer more than anything in the world but that didn't mean my senior year was fun all the time.  In fact, I was unhappy a lot, even though I was very blessed and fortunate and successful.

I never thought of it as something I stood for, being happy.  Whenever I've studied the Creed before I always focused on the second paragraph and told my story of being chased by the goose.  I never even really, fully comprehended that if I really live by the FFA Creed, that means that I believe in being happy.

So that's another thing I'm working on.  And this weekend is bound to bring some happiness, because (1) it's my birthday, and (2) I'm in Minnesota attending a National Officer Candidate Training Weekend!  It already reminds me of my good old State Officer summer... I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to be here this weekend and I know I'll learn a lot.

Two other things on my mind tonight.

1) FFA has had a huge jump in membership, have you heard?  The official tally for this year is 523,309 members, which I find incredibly exciting.

2) I feel very confident today.  I don't know why that is exactly.  I feel like this is what I am supposed to be doing and I just feel...confident in my abilities.  Which is a very calm feeling.  Awesome.

Well I have an early morning tomorrow.  I'll keep you posted! (get it?)

Rachel

Back from the dead...

Why hello, blog-I-have-not-updated-in-almost-a-month.

My goodness how time flies.  I have been so busy with my new (and increasingly awesome!) internship at the Division of Agriculture.  I have been on the road and learning new skills along the way.  Like how to drive (I haven't had an anxiety attack over it since my first drive to Anchorage this summer!).  And how to check into hotel rooms.  And how to not make a huge mess when I stay in hotel rooms.  And how to deal with children, and tourists, and people from different cultures.  And I am having a great time, too!

But my job is almost over, just one more week of work and I'll be off to school again.  Then I'll finally have time to get down to business and study to the end.  Not that I haven't been studying all along- but now it's time to tie up the loose ends.  Make sure I'm all ready for the written test.  Prepare like crazy for the hot topics.  Maybe do some more facilitation.  Buy new Official Dress.  Get good make-up.  Go to the practice camp- do more interview questions, evaluate, work on them again.  I'm so nervous, but I'm really excited too.  I know I have a chance at this, I've worked really hard, and I hate to admit this out loud, in case it doesn't happen for me...but I really, really want this.

I haven't been slacking too bad though!  In my absense I:

• Finished and sent my application (which included a near-perfect letter of application- hurray!)
• Spoke and answered interview questions at the Farm Bureau meeting
• Helped coordinate and run kid's activities at Ag Appreciation Day
• Continued to read my newest book, Monday Morning Choices
• Got my American Degree! (which doesn't mean I did anything, technically... I filled out the application months ago.  But I checked the website and I am all set to receive it!)
• Spent a day on the Mat-Su Farm Tour
• Interviewed Alex Davis of AD Farms, (which is on Lazy Mountain, which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in my entire life.  Seriously took my breath away.) And,
• Continued to work on my goal for August, which is to "Cease Non-Excellence."  (Meaning, to stop doing things that are not totally excellent.  Like spending more than ten minutes doing nothing on Facebook.  Or watching more than the appropriate amount of Food Network shows at once.  Or sleeping without sheets on my bed.  I haven't done very well at this goal...but I'm working on it.)

Speaking of goals, only 2 more until I'm (hopefully) a National Officer! Ah!  I'm getting overwhelmed thinking about it.  I think I'll go up to my hotel room (I'm in Kenai now) and get settled in for the night.

Have a fantastic weekend.  I'll probably write again once I'm settled in Logan again!
Rachel

Pictures from Spring Creek Farm

I told you I would put these up eventually!  This was such a fantastic day.  Me on a farm is like a kid in a candy store. Or Toys-R-Us, I used to go crazy in that store... :)  Enjoy.

Did you miss me?

Yeah, sure you did.  Sorry for the long break in blogging.  I can explain why with just two words:

200 hours!

Thanks to some awesome hours racked up last week, I am well on my way to my goal and I am pumped.  I've been really busy, last week I spent most of my waking moments writing, editing, and memorizing a speech for the Rotary club, and then about 20 minutes giving it, of course.

Then on Friday Rayne and I had an all day study jam.  It was awesome, we talked about a lot of stuff, watched and critiqued the video of my speech, and then spent about four hours exploring and learning about Spring Creek Farm, which is this huge hog operation only a few miles down the road from my house!  And they had steers, bison, yak, and even an elk.  It was great.  Rayne took like 300 pictures (literally) so I'll get a few up here soon.  I had a great time.  Who knew preparation could be so fun?

The fun is good, it balances the feeling of being overwhelmed.  Like the feeling I have about filling out my American Degree application- it's so huge and confusing!  I have to keep reminding myself that it's worth it though, because my American Degree is separate from running for National Office- it's something that I'm going to achieve for sure!  So no matter what happens running for National Office, I'll leave this convention with a key on my chain, and that's an awesome accomplishment in and of itself.

For some reason, I thought the hot topics for my speech, writing assignment, and facilitation round weren't going to be released until August 1st- but I just found that they're up already!  How awesome is that?  Seriously awesome, I'd say.

So, today's the first day of June, and I need a new goal.  I'm sure that there are a million things I need to work on, but I can't think of anything right now...suggestions?  Rayne reminded me the other day that I shouldn't be preparing to run but preparing to be.  So what's a good quality for a National Officer to have that I can focus on developing for a month?  Let me know if you have any spectacular ideas.

One more thing- check out what came in the mail the other day....

I'm stoked. :)

Frustration and Facilitation

Hey guys,
It's a beautiful sunny day outside and I should be happy.  But I feel upset and discouraged.  In bullet form here's why:

• Yesterday I spent a loooong time trying to make my video for state convention in Alaska- which starts tomorrow.  After burning my ankle with my overheated laptop (seriously!) I finally figured out what I wanted to say and how, and got a good recording, but the audio doesn't sync up with the video, and for the life of me, I can't figure out how to get it to.  Unless anyone has any tech-knowledge I don't, I won't have a video for convention. :(
• I thought I had my class schedule all worked out yesterday, only to find out today that I can't take one of the classes I wanted to, so it's back to the drawing board.  Registering for classes is made infinitely more difficult when I have to check with each teacher and ask, "Would it be okay if I had to drop out of your class three weeks early?"  I abhor it.  And I wonder if I really am making the right choice by taking an easy semester.
• Today I volunteered to help judge the Agricultural Communications CDE.  It took over an hour longer than it was supposed to, and because I was 2 seconds too late for Media Smarts, I missed class and a quiz.  And my project due Thursday is not even close to being done!
• Buying new make up doesn't make me any better at putting it on.

...and other things.  But hey, I know from experience that dwelling on what gets me down never does anything to help me get back down.  I know this is just the first of many times I will doubt what I'm doing, feel down on myself, even consider quitting.  But I'm not quitting.  This is what I want and hard times only make success sweeter...right?

So let's talk about something else.  In Society and Disability class today (I did get to go to that one) we watched a video about teaching children with learning disabilities, and it made me think a lot about facilitation.  I don't blog much about facilitation right now, because I'm not doing very much of it, but that will hopefully change when I get home for the summer.

I got to present a workshop at the Utah Leadership Conference in December, before I started this blog, that helped me improve my skills quite a bit.  One thing I remember is talking with the other workshop presenters afterwards about how their workshops went, and we all had picked out the kids that were problems.  They weren't really "problems," of course, but they went against the grain- didn't play along with the games, asked too many questions, gave input that really didn't help establish the point, or what have you.  As a workshop presenter, these kids can be hard to work with, and sometimes you wish they'd just act like the others.

A leadership book I read earlier this year (and the title escapes me right now...I think it was by John C. Maxwell) presented something called the 80/20 principle, which says you should pour 80 percent of your energy into your top twenty employees/students/people.  

I usually agree with leadership books, but this principle really bothered me.  I think I'm more of a 20/80 principle type of a person.  High school kids who are juggle four after school activities, a part time job, and a 4.0 GPA don't really need me.  Of course I am going to give them as much attention as I can, but I really think my job as an FFA facilitator is to focus on those who I could really help to make important changes in their lives.

But how does that apply to facilitation?  Because like I said, those students who need the most help are typically those who "ruin" the workshop.  I keep thinking about ULC and I remember that there was an attendee there with an obvious mental disability.  I should have reached out to her, but I just ignored her.  That was so wrong.

But back to the video we watched.  It was about teaching- not facilitation.  When I was younger, I really wanted to be a teacher.  The glitter has worn off a little now, I don't think I want  a full-time career as a teacher, but I still have an interest in it.  I think that's why I was so drawn to state, and now national office- because I get to be a teacher to students without doing it full time.

I heard somewhere that a lot of kids want to be teachers when they grow up because that's the only occupation they've really been exposed to.  I also think it's because teachers have a lot of influence over their students during the year or two they have them in their care.  That's obvious for me because I picked Mr. Geisler as one of the people who has had the most influence in my life.

Teachers can do a lot of good, and a lot of harm, to their students.  I remember Mr. Geisler and all the great things he did for me, but the two other very vivid memories I have from middle school are from 6th and 8th grade, when two very well-meaning and good teachers hurt my feelings and made me cry because of some faulty teaching techniques.  

I don't blame those teachers at all, it was honest mistake and I still hold them in the highest regard.  But what I remember is not all the days of excellent teaching- but the one day of utter humiliation and embarrassment.  I think sometimes teachers don't realize how their teaching tactics really effect students, which is what the movie focused on.  The "teacher" in the video illustrated some things that teachers typically do that don't make sense, such as punishing or bribing students to answer questions they honestly cannot answer.  

What I got from this is that you can't beat a dead horse.  If I'm trying to make a point in a workshop, and it isn't working, I'll just have to switch tacts and be adaptable.  I'm not perfect- I certainly don't claim to be.  I had a few moments at ULC where I felt like I really got through to the students and did some last minute changes to my workshop which really worked well.  Other moments, I ended up looking like an idiot.

To wrap up, my philosophy on workshops is to be adaptable.  I'm going to focus on trying to reach all the students, not just the high achievers.  I'm going to try to always uplift and never degrade, because I certainly don't want student's only experience with me to be one they remember because I was mean to them.

I hope the rest of your Tuesday is great, and here's hoping mine gets a little better too,

Rachel

Breeding Tests at Broadbent Ranch

Hey all,

This is what my Saturday looked like:

How was yours? 

Students in my Animal Science Class, and the entire Sheep Production Class (about 120 kids overall) went to the Broadbent Ranch in Granger, Wyoming to do breeding soundness tests on their 500+ rams.  It was a ton of fun!

It was so nice to be around sheep again, to learn new things, and to make new friends.  But I am getting ahead of myself.  Let me tell you about the trip from the beginning.

I woke up at 5 am so that I could get to the Wool Lab to meet everyone and we could leave by 5:30.  Of course, some people were not so timely, so we didn't get on the road until a little after 6.

I slept on the ride down, until we got to a McDonalds somewhere in the middle of nowhere, Wyoming.  I wish I had taken a picture.  They had seats in the play center that were saddles.

We finally got to Broadbent Ranch at around 9:45 and started working immediately.  The only problem, at the beginning, was that I didn't know what to do and how to do it.  And nobody told me.

So let me describe the first part of the day, because it was difficult and made the rest of the day that much better.  And it taught me something profound about leadership that I will discuss a little later.

While everyone scurried around and got into groups and began grabbing rams and performing the tests that they had learned in sheep production class, I stood there wondering where I could go and what I could do to not be in the way.

The supervisor of shots and drenching then rounded up all the students in the Intro to Animal Science Class.  She gave us jobs to spray the sheep with color (I'm sure it wasn't spray paint, though that's what it looked like) after they were vaccinated and de-wormed.  Unfortunately, the work was fast and the supervisor wasn't very clear in her directions to me and the other person working with her.  I took about, oh, five seconds for her to become frustrated with us.  Then she told us to follow her and on the way a student tried to recruit me to "Drench" sheep and even put a backpack of chemicals on me, before Doc (that's my teacher) explained that I was in the introductory class and didn't know how.  Then Doc stole me to help herd the rams into the corral, which made my supervisor really mad.  So I went to herd sheep, and in about three minutes later my partner Jacquelyn joined me with the other sheep herders, saying that the supervisor had become so frustrated that she had "fired" her.  

Sheep herding turned out to be standing around like sub-par fences for about an hour.  We felt so useless.  At one point, someone walked by and asked how we got lucky enough to be sheepherders, and I answered, "Because we don't know how to do anything else.  We're incompetent."  And that's how I felt.  It got worse when one (giant) ram slipped by me and I heard another supervisor yell, "Doc, I need another student there, this one can't do the job."    

Luckily, my experience got dramatically better when all the sheep were herded into the corral.  Then I went to Doc and asked him for a new job, and he assigned me to work with an exceptionally nice group of girls.  These girls included me in everything, taught me what I didn't know, and generally believed that I was capable of helping.  Pretty soon, I was able to perform almost every test and flip the rams with only one other person helping.  

I won't elaborate on the tests we were performing- they were kind of gross.  But it was so fun for me to be around animals again!  I didn't even mind getting manure ALL over me, because it's just helping season in my Carhartts. :)

When we finished, the sheep looked like this: pretty colorful!  The purple streaks signify the rams have been de-wormed, the orange that they have been vaccinated, and the red and green signify their performance in the breeding exams.

After we finished all the tests (in record time, I might add) we ate some Dutch oven food.  On top  is mutton stew.  I don't particularly like mutton, I've decided.  On bottom is the yummy peach cobbler we got for desert, plus a great view of my dirty legs and trashed boots.

Well I said I was going to make a point about leadership, and I am.  I had two totally different experiences at that ranch in one day.  The first part of the day I felt like I was in the way of everyone.  I was totally inconvenient and people treated me like it was easier to ignore me or to yell at me than to teach me.  The second part of the day, my group members believed in me and gave me every opportunity to learn.  Even when I made mistakes, they knew that it was just because I was still learning and gave me the benefit of the doubt instead of writing me off as worthless.

Having been treated both ways, I now know how I want to treat people.  From now on, I will help people to learn and believe the best about them.  I will not let my impatience govern the way I treat others.  

Phew, this is a huge post!  I have a really funny story to tell about this trip, but I'll save it for another post.

Have a great week!

Rachel

Sheep Shearing, Founding Fathers, Benson, and Ag in Haiti

Hello all,
This week has been a really fun one for me.  On Tuesday I got to go to the University Sheep Farm and help with their big shearing day.  I had an awesome time, AND I got double extra credit for it in my Animal Science class- things don't get much better than that.  :)  Of course, my dorm room and my brown cowboy boots both smell like sheep now, and I'm not sure how much my roommate appreciates that.  But I got to gather the wool after the expert sheep shearers did their job (like 10 minutes per sheep!), weigh it, sort out the second clippings, throw it all in an 12 foot bag and then get inside the bag and stomp it down.  And after we finished one group, I got to herd them out of the barn and then herd the next group in.  I've really missed being around animals, so I had a really good time.  And my boots got nicely oiled from the lanolin in the wool- even though they smell bad now. 

So, as part of my study, I'm going to do at least one post a week sharing current agricultural news with everyone.  But I also will share with you historical things I learn and find interesting.  This week I've been studying from a book called, "FFA at 50" which goes through the first fifty years of FFA history, and from a USDA online presentation called "A History of American Agriculture."

While I was going through "A History of American Agriculture,"  I made a note of the fact that in the year 1790, 90% of the labor force were farmers.  This shouldn't be surprising to me, but right now somewhere between 1-2% of the American population are farmers, roughly.  America also has the safest and cheapest food supply in the world.  I am convinced that if you aren't impressed by American agriculture, you just don't know enough about it.  But I digress.  Back the 1790s- I just was thinking about how many of our founding fathers were farmers (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, etc.) and I always thought that was odd.  I was just convinced that its because farmers are incredible people.  I guess now I realize that although they were incredible men, the founding fathers were farmers because well...everyone was a farmer then!  I had never thought about it that way before.

Some other interesting trivia (at least for some of you):  1953 was the Silver Anniversary FFA Convention- a celebration of 25 years.  I knew that Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke there, the first time a U.S. president addressed the FFA at the convention, but did you know that Ezra Taft Benson, who was the United States Secretary of Agriculture at the time, also spoke there?  This doesn't mean much to most people, but it was cool for me to learn about because Ezra Taft Benson was also the prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, of which I'm a member, from 1985-1994.  I like that he knew the FFA was a priority.  :)

And last but not least, Haiti.  We've all heard about it since the terrible earthquake there.  We haven't heard much about their agricultural situation though, which I think is important.  After all, you can't rebuild a country without food.  That's why in the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations are recommending national aid of $700 million to help rebuild agriculture in Haiti.  You can read the whole article here:  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=at_vFIabEsso
Also, if you are interested in finding current ag news yourself, check out Google Fast Flips at http://www.fastflips.googlelabs.com/, just search "Agriculture" and you'll be able to read as many ariticles of the day about agriculture as you can handle!

Well I'm signing out, have a great week everyone!
Rachel

Denver Stock Show

My first adventure of the year, and by far the most exciting yet, was my solo trip to the Denver Stock Show. If you've never seen a big stock show, you really need to. I was SO impressed with all the livestock there, and of course the good food, western wear vendors, rodeos, and horse and sheep shows.

Rayne was, again, the person who gave me this great idea. I tried to enlist some friends to join me, but had no luck. I considered not going, but then decided that I really needed the experience- plus I really wanted to! I know I don't have the same interests as most of my friends, or even most people in general, but that's okay with me. I'm still going to do what I enjoy.

I left for Denver on January 14, and stayed through the 18th (President's Day). It was definately an expensive trip, but it was worth it!

I got to do the following:

• Looked at all the cool cattle, sheep and horses
• Tried my hand as a sheep judge- and proved to be awesome at it :)
• Watched the Charolais association auction and heard a crazy auctioneer!
• Learned about cattle feed, sexed semen technologies, breed associations, semen distributors and animal vitamins from vendors at the stock yards.
• Discovered a hatred for buffalo meat
• Watched the PRCA rodeo
• Watched a Wild West Show
• Watched a Maine Anjou bull show
• Watched a scary movie alone in my hotel...big mistake!
• And last but not least, this:

Yes, that's me on top of a Brahman cow. You are jealous. I love the look of that cowboy's face. Get over it cowboy, I'm sorry you're mad that I'm 12-15 years older than most of your customers. I paid my ten bucks for this crappy picture just like everyone else. :)
-Rachel