Do you believe?

I've been having a problem lately. I can't seem to find the time to go for my run or go play basketball. Schoolwork seems never endless and I'm surrounded by thousands of people. I didn't run for THREE whole weeks.

The other day I pulled out my bright orange running shoes, laced them up, and hit the sidewalks of Iowa State. I had been stressing about class all week, and it felt good to be engaged in physical activity. I was over halfway through my run, and doubts of my ability to endure and make it to the final stretch began to creep into my mind. I was tired. It was hard to breath. I was cold. And then, I gave in to my doubts. I stopped running. I stretched for a few minutes and shook my head. Why was I doing this to myself? I had the ability to run without stopping. I started up my run again and sprinted in the home stretch. But the rest of the day I couldn't shake it, I had given up.

We all have times in our lives when we struggle to believe.

Sometimes we stop running, we quit doing that hard homework assignment, or we don't try out for the school play. It's okay to stop believing every once in a while, but we must refuse to make it a habit. We need to have faith in ourselves and hope for a better next time.

There are a few things I never struggle to believe in, and one of them is the power and importance of agriculture. I believe FFA members are the future of agriculture. I believe that it is important we teach others about agriculture. I believe in hard work for strong results. I believe in the words of the FFA Creed. (https://www.ffa.org/documents/creed67.pdf)

The theme of National FFA is "I Believe." National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana will be in full swing within a few days when over 50,000 students gather to compete in National Career Development Events, attend workshops, and immerse themselves into the opportunities of agriculture. Whether you attend convention or not, take some time this week to think about why you believe in FFA and agriculture. Take time this week to understand why you should believe in yourself.

I'm getting ready to lace up my tennis shoes for a run tonight. If you see my at convention, I want to be able to tell you I completed my run. The Minnesota FFA Delegates head to Indy tomorrow, so it's now or never. We hope to see you there competing, representing your home chapter, or cheering on the Star Farmer finalist from Minnesota, Tom Eilertson of United South Central FFA. Together we will be saying: "I Believe."

Stationed beneath the rising sun,

Hillary Kletscher

By the Numbers

Over the past couple of weeks our lives have been filled with numbers. The 6 state officers finished the last week of September visiting chapters throughout the state. During that week the state officers with the help of region officers....

-visited 43 chapters in Regions 5 and 6 in 5 days.

-met 56 agricultural teachers and over 1000 FFA members and/or agricultural education students

-helped with 3 region days in regions 2, 3, & 6

-Infinite, the number of members, students, and individuals that were positively affected and will take what they learned and expereinced and share it with others

The first week of October was the University of Minnesota Fall Invitation:

-5 career development events took place

-1000+ FFA members took part and covered the state fair grounds and U of M campus in St. Paul

I learned two key things from these events:

First, these two events were huge and provided a lot of numbers to run through our heads but the more I thought about it, were the numbers that important? Is quantity better than quality? It's nice to put a number or price on something but to aim for quality is the key. Sincerity, heart, care, dedication, real, motivational, and humbleness are just a few words I choose to live by and applied them to visiting chapters and helping out the the U of M invite. If these words or attitudes were used at one school or event, it would carry a longer way than if you forgot about them and visited fifteen schools or events. Put your heart and dedication in everything you do. Be real. Share your experiences. Listen to what others have to say. Be confident but be humble. Numbers are simply just numbers.

Secondly agriculture was all around us. As I drove throughout the southwest, west central, and central Minnesota agriculture sprinkled the country side. Fields, animals, wind turbines, agriculture businesses, FFA members and agricultural education students.

In closing, let's not measure our successes based solely on numbers or facts, but more so on how and why we do things.

Stationed by the emblem of Washington,

Tyler Warren