It was 4 o'clock in the morning in Indianapolis, Indiana. I stumbled out of the bed in my hotel room and fell into the routine as if it hadn't been over three years since I had done it last. First came the pantyhose. Then the white button-up shirt. Then the skirt. Then the scarf. And then I felt the familiar blue corduroy under my fingertips as I pulled the jacket off the hanger.
And then I zipped it up for the very last time.
As I put on an FFA jacket for the last time, I remembered the first time I put on a jacket of my very own. Ever since I was a little girl, I had dreamed of what it would be like to proudly wear that jacket with the FFA emblem on the back. My advisor, who also happened to be my dad, handed me a jacket with my name in yellow cursive on the front during my freshman year of high school. I immediately put it on and felt a huge smile cross my face. My dream had come true.
I put on the official dress of the FFA countless times after that. And there were times when I wasn't incredibly happy about it. I wished the jacket was much warmer as I walked the cold streets of Indianapolis at the National FFA Convention. I wished it was much cooler as I stood in the heat and watched the ground being broken for the building of the new cafeteria at FFA Camp. A lot of times I would have rather been wearing sweatpants than a skirt and pantyhose.
But those weren't the memories that stuck out to me as I put on my jacket for the last time. I recalled the moments that were more important, the ones I will remember for many years to come.
I remembered standing in front of 300 people at FFA Camp and reciting the FFA Creed. I remembered giving opening ceremonies for the first time. I remembered running across the field at camp to hug my dad after being named Camp Council President. I remembered standing in front of my chapter and holding the gavel for the first time...and getting completely tongue-tied because I was so excited.
I remembered the countless tears I shed in my FFA jacket. Tears of joy after I was named chapter president. Tears of sadness as I left camp for the last time and again as I passed the gavel on to someone else, and then afterward, slipping it into my jacket pocket. I'll give it back...eventually.
As those memories ran through my head, I walked over and hugged my dad and advisor as tears filled both of our eyes. This was the end of a beautiful journey we had made together. He had inspired me and pushed me for four years in FFA, and we were able to celebrate that together.
As the session opened at National Convention, I was able to stand one last time and say these familiar words: "To practice brotherhood, honor agricultural opportunities and responsibilities, and develop those qualities of leadership which an FFA member should possess."
After walking across the stage to receive my American degree and taking numerous pictures, the time came to take off my blue corduroy jacket for the last time. I expected a lot of tears, but they didn't come. At least not from me. My parents were a different story.
But as I unzipped that jacket, I knew that it was just the ending of an excellent chapter in my life. FFA was a part of my life, but it isn't the foundation of who I am. My identity still resides in the God who created me and whose truths are a core part of the FFA Organization.
Even though I will no longer wear my FFA jacket, I can still live by the words I spoke that day. I can live in a community not only with other FFA members and alumni but among my brothers and sisters in Christ. I can still honor my background in agriculture. And I can develop the qualities of leadership that are required not only of an FFA member but of a follower of Christ.
FFA will always hold a special place in my heart, and it has helped shape me into the person I am today. As I move on from membership in that organization, I will still live by E.M. Tiffany's words in the FFA Creed:
"I believe that American agriculture can and will hold true to the best traditions of our national life and that I can exert an influence in my home and community which will stand solid for my part in that inspiring task."
