Dearest Clover,

As a person who grew up in a time where having manners was often set off to the side, role models were found in magazines rather than history books, and "life hacks" were taught by Google rather than listening to Grandpa, I can tell you that not many kids in this generation like to get their hands dirty.

I, too, never thought that this would be where I find my most enjoyment in life. I never thought that a simple green and white clover would mean so much to me. It seems kind of silly, now, that I write to you with so much gratitude.

You see, while all of my other "friends" at school were getting into relationship problems, drama and even drugs, I became famous for the phrase "sorry I have 4-H tonight."

I will admit, at first I was sometimes embarrassed to be spending hours upon hours finishing project books, going to meetings, and going to the social events (that weren't mandatory). However, as time went on, and small projects grew into a part of my life that I could not live without, I started to become proud of who I was because of you.

My 4-H meetings started to become the place where I fit in. My 4-H friends slowly started to become my 4-H family. They started checking in on my school work, my other hobbies and who I really was as a person. They began showing up to games, plays and recitals that most of my real family would not bother to show up to. So soon did these people change from being my "4-H family" to just being my family.

No, we don't share the same blood. We don't come from the same side of town. I might even only see them one or two times a year when we spend a week competing against each other under the August sun. We are, however, bonded together because of you. Something so simple that has changed our lives forever.

I would like to thank you for all of the memories I have while wearing you on my shirt. It was during these times that I learned the most. I learned that hard work does pay off while I watched the bidder's hand go flying in the air to buy my market animal. I got up in huge crowds to give unprepared speeches about anything from horses to fashion shows. I felt what winning was like and I also felt how it was to lose. Good or bad, there were always other clovers on other shirts near by to bring mine back up.

Because of this, no matter where I go in life, I still can hear myself saying:

"I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club my community, my country, and my world."

The pledge that is memorized and said by every 4-H member before every meeting or 4-H event while looking at a white flag with you in the center. One little clover, that has no meaning to most, but means the world to me.