Growing up showing livestock I have learned so many valuable lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I spent most of my teenage years in boots and jeans during summer vacation. I was always out at the barn working with my pigs and maybe loving on them a little too much (they would roll over when you rubbed their bellies). Now that my 10 years in the show ring is over, I can’t help but sit back and think of how thankful I am for the livestock industry and all it has done for me.
Thank you for teaching me how to be a morning person.
It’s so difficult to wake up at 6 o’clock in the morning every day over summer vacation when you KNOW all your friends are still sound asleep in their beds, but getting up before the sun comes up is worth it when you are greeted by wet pig kisses and a beautiful sunrise.
Thank you for teaching me how to be responsible and hard working.
Taking care of multiple animals can be very time-consuming and difficult. The livestock industry has taught me how to follow through with a project and to do it to the best of my ability. These are two life lessons that I will be able to utilize for the rest of my life. I am so thankful that I learned them at a young age.
Thank you for giving me so many life-long friends.
I have made some of the best friends through showing livestock. Some from close by and others from far away. We may be hundreds of miles away, but we all share a love and passion for this crazy lifestyle. No matter how long we go without talking to each other, we always seem to pick up right where we left off.
Thank you for creating a bond between my dad and me.
This is something I overlooked when I was younger, but as I grew older I became more and more thankful for the bond that my dad and I have created over livestock. We spend all summer together, working hard in the heat. Sometimes we get on each other’s nerves, but I wouldn’t want to be busting my butt with anyone else.
Thank you for teaching me more than any classroom or teacher could.
I have learned more from my four-legged animals than I could have in any classroom. The past 10 years I have lived and learned from my mistakes in the barn and the show ring.
I look back on all the early mornings, late nights, and hard work that have taken place over the past 10 years and I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity to be involved in such an amazing industry. When I was nine years old I would have never thought that I would be so in love with a four-legged animal, nor would I have thought that I would be pursuing a career in the swine field. I will miss the smell of fresh shavings and the sound of oinks from happy pigs. But I will especially miss the bond between a girl and her show pig.
