While most kids spent their summers growing up at the pool, riding their bikes, or going to the arcade, my summers were spent going to 4-H camp, working with livestock, baling hay and getting ready for the county fair. Unlike most kids, I grew up on a farm. As a kid, I knew I was learning how to do some pretty cool things that not many other people could do, like help a heifer birth her calves and drive the big tractors, but it wasn't until I went off to college that I realized growing up on the farm top me some pretty valuable life lessons.
1. I learned the value of a dollar and a good day's hard work.
Day to day on the farm often means long hours, early mornings, late nights and lots of very physical labor. It's also a profession that involves a lot of planning and budgeting that to always make a profit or at the very least break even.
2. I learned to never give up.
Times will get tough and things aren't always gonna go the way you want. The weather might work against your crops this year or the newborn foal won't make it through the night. That doesn't mean you just stop or give up. My 4-H adviser always told me when life knocks you down, dust yourself right back off, grab it by the halter and lead.
3. I learned to be compassionate.
"Love His land, love His people and love His creatures." This is something my Grandpa used to tell me daily. It's the same reason I made him stop the tractor in the middle of bailing hay to help a family of wild rabbits, and the same reason we regularly volunteered to help others with our church.
4. I learned how to make hard decisions.
Sometimes, the hard choice was to go out and do something fun with my friends or stay home and help Grandpa with extra chores. Other times the choice was to put down an animal that couldn't be saved and was clearly in pain. These are the choices that really show your character.
5. I learned to be optimistic.
Farming is a gamble every year. I learned to just be positive no matter what because being negative never did you any good. Will Rodgers once said "The farmer has to be an optimist or he wouldn't still be a farmer."
6. I learned the real importance of agriculture.
The agricultural industry is one that a lot of people not involved in it look down upon. Without agriculture, life as we know it wouldn't be possible.
My family's agricultural background has played a huge part in shaping me into the person that I am today. I hope the all of the lessons that I learned on the farm, both big and small, stay with me for the rest of my life.
