When I was in high school, I didn’t understand what the phrase, “bloom where you are planted” meant. It seemed silly to me: of course a flower will bloom where it is planted! At times I also thought the opposite; after experiencing adversity that made me stronger, I did not want to return to the places that I had those experiences. Recently, I have come to appreciate this phrase more than I ever thought that I would.

Between my freshman and sophomore years of high school, I attended an FFA leadership conference that I had set my goals on attending during freshman year, as only chapter officers could attend this conference. Everything about the facility seemed magical: the lake, the cabins, and the memorabilia decorating the main building. When we arrived at the conference, I was nervous about meeting new people and being separated from my friends, insecure, and fearing that it would be three days of adversity, just like school. Boy, was I wrong! I met new friends, gained leadership skills, found mentors, set goals, and built self-confidence.

For the next two summers I would return to that conference, feeling more and more confident in myself each time, and reconnecting with old friends while making new ones. While some of my friends began to lose their excitement for it, mine evolved into an outlook of, “I wonder what I can do and learn today to help me grow.” When my senior year rolled around, I stood in the gym and the lobby of the main building on the last day and wondered how I had ever been scared to attend this conference in a place that had grown to be so familiar. As a friend asked me how I felt that my last conference was over, I surprisingly teared up, and my not-so-emotional friend quickly told me that he was sure that it wouldn’t be my last one. He was right.

The next year, I was blessed to facilitate the conference that I had grown to love. The two weeks that I spent doing so were some of the most growth-filled days of my life. I was challenged in ways that I had never experienced, the responsibility that I felt was tremendous, and I truly value every minute of those two weeks. It was easily my favorite and most memorable conference.

For the past two summers, I have returned to the conference for a few days to give a minute amount of assistance. When not assisting, I can be found roaming the halls and the grounds, reminiscing with friends about the memories that were made there.

I made this trip again this past week, and found, “bloom where you are planted” running through my mind. After not being able to shake it, I realized that I had indeed bloomed where I was planted. Looking back on the shy, insecure freshman that I was on my first trip to the conference reminds me of why I keep coming back; to invest in conference participants. As I grew throughout high school and even the two weeks spent facilitating it, the growth and personal development that I have experienced is amazing. While the cabins may not seem magical anymore, I found that it is not the facility that makes me feel at home during the conference; it’s the people. I’m fortunate to be pursuing a career that strongly encourages bringing my students to the conference each year.

Though at times I feel old coming back to the conference, I can’t imagine missing a year. And to answer my young self’s confusion about the phrase, I’ve found that we can be planted and bloom in several places. I bloomed where I was planted, but will sow seeds throughout my life.