Kansas FFA Reporter

Quality Carries On

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Sep 2015 23:43:00 +0000

Well, it’s that wonderful time of the year again. When classmates come together to celebrate their time in school and watch a good ole’ game of football. Yep, it’s Homecoming! Whether it’s at our hometown high schools or at Kansas State University, the week is always packed with fun activities for the entire community to enjoy. I was actually able to head back this past weekend to our game to catch up with old friends, watch my sister walk across the field as a queen candidate, see my former teachers and coaches and enjoy another Chapman Irish Football game. It sure was strange to come back to a game for the first time as an alum.

Last years fun Homecoming memories! Your state treasurer
Lane Coberly and I were both on our Homecoming Court.

Before I made my way to the football field, however, I made a quick drive around the schools. It made me think about all that my classmates and I were able to accomplish throughout our four years at Chapman High School, and the legacy we left. I’m sure every class wants to be known for something; whether it’s for sports, academics or activities. Now, depending on who you ask, the experiences would differ, but in my mind, my class was a family. We prided ourselves on making the halls of our high school welcoming to new students and to old. Though we may be gone, I hope that value endures on in the other students now.

The things we do now will last forever, but the best things will continue to stay long after we’re gone. Sure, my class brought in various awards and accolades, but that’s not what will carry on for years to come. The things that will last the longest aren’t trophies or objects. Nothing quite sums it up like this Coke commercial that was shot right outside of Chapman and highlights a great sponsor of Kansas FFA, Ford.

It’s always fun to get that Career Development Event medal or win your proficiency award area, but is that what we truly want leave behind? Take some time and think about what we as FFA members want to carry on. How will we work to make sure that the values and characteristics carried on by future FFA members are quality?

The Real Souvenir

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 14:35:00 +0000

With the end of summer approaching and school in the near horizon, the season of traveling is coming to a close. Travel is a passion of mine, whether it was traveling to see family across the country, or traveling to Washington D.C. to learn more about servant leadership like several Kansas FFA members experienced at Washington Leadership Conference (WLC) this past June and July.

But being the slight hoarder I am, wherever I go, I have to pick up a souvenir. It’s sometimes an item, or even a photograph. I also keep souvenirs that my friends and family bring home too, like a box of mints from Disneyland or a boot keychain from Guatemala. These small tokens remind me of great times and make me feel like I went on other individuals trips as well. So when my grandma announced that she was traveling to Germany for two weeks, you can imagine my envy; but I knew that with the generosity of my grandma, came gifts upon her return.

Just as I returned home from State Conference for Chapter Leaders (SCCL) Grandma arrived home and came bearing souvenirs. The grandkids assembled at her house and waited for her to say the words, “and I brought something just for you!”. When the gifts were finally unveiled, I was a little confused. I was expecting some traditional German lederhosen or maybe a cuckoo clock, but instead, she handed me a bag of Haribo gummy bears and an Adidas shirt; two items that I could walk into most American stores and buy. As my grandma started to tell stories of castles in the mountainside, I continued to look at the items. “What was so special about junk food and a shirt?”

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it didn’t matter where the items had come from, it was who the items had come from. I was too busy thinking about the cultural meaning behind the gift to realize that my grandma had taken time out of her own vacation to think about me and what I would possibly want. Heck, she even asked if the shirt fit correctly, and if it didn’t, she would try to get it returned (to an Adidas store in Herzogenaurach, Germany)! It’s easy to look at a relationship and over-analyze the situation. But instead of thinking too far ahead, let’s go back to the basics and remember the reason they are in our lives in the first place; not because of what items they give, but what lessons and memories are interchanged.

Before I end my first blog post, here are some quick tidbits about me!

My family consists of my two parents, my older brother and younger sister! Here we are with my grandparents.
I love to sing, write, play sports and have a great time with friends!
Other than food, I am always the first to try new things, like zip lining.
People call me the tech guy, but I really just turn electronics on and off and they somehow magically work again.

5. I love my and teammates and love FFA!

Troublesome Kids!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 13:48:00 +0000

We all have those days where nothing can seem to go right. We might wake up late and miss our ride to school, then realize we forgot our gym clothes at home, then sit down in class and remember we have homework due. But hey, it happens to all of us. I had one such week where I was really starting to get worn down and worn out, accomplishing nothing, like a bald tire trying to get traction on the ice. I had two tests that week, on top of a paper to write, along with trying to decide what classes I would take the next semester. And in the midst of the frustration and hurry to accomplish all of these things, my computer died (To make a long story short, never plug the phone end of an iphone charger into your USB port while the charger is plugged into the wall). Eventually, I managed to get my computer fixed, and even accomplished those tasks on time with reasonable success. But even after getting everything done, I still felt like I was out of gas, and unable to go any further. I fought this exhaustion over the weekend, but come Monday I realized I needed to find a way to recharge myself. Luckily, a lone thought popped into my mind almost immediately: Kids!

Now, before anyone starts jumping to any conclusion, I need to let you know that any use of the term “kids” in this blog will always refer to young, obnoxious, loud, playful, and smelly . . . goats. Over the past 9 years here in Kansas, I have helped my parents raise them along with a few other animals on our farm. However, spending this year away from home at college greatly reduced my daily time spent with these lovable animals. So in order to solve this problem, a few teammates (namely Taylor and Bethany) joined me on the 20-minute drive to Olsburg to see the creatures. As we pulled into the driveway, we could see them frolicking around the pens as their mother’s kept a watchful eye. We soon joined the goats in the pen, and our tiredness immediately left. Anyone who even has only limited goat experience will know how much fun we had with the little, ornery critters. They jumped about, butted one another, and even found joy tasting our shirts as we held them. We were able to play with them for at least an hour until they finally became tired and went to find their mothers’ in our yard.

As the gang and I made out way back to town, I realized how better I felt after spending time with those kids. It was amazing to see how an hour with that infinite positivity refilled my glass and refreshed my mind. And sometimes, that boost is just what we need to get through a difficult time. Whenever we get in a crunch, it is easy for us to try and keep grinding through the mess, but more often than not, a quick break and refresher can do wonders. But whether it is with your family, friends, or “kids,” is up to you.

The Creative Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 13:59:00 +0000

The search began during my sophomore year. I had just applied to become an officer in the Blue Valley FFA chapter, and today was the day of the interview. I was a little nervous, but had practiced for the interview by using a sheet of practice questions my advisor had given me. During the interview, however, a question was thrown at me that I would dread for the next 3 years. “What is your favorite quote and why is it important to you?”

It didn’t matter if I was asked this question by a friend or by an interviewer. Either my face would get all red and I’d stammer out the last quote I remembered (that’s what happened in the interview), or I’d reply with “I don’t know.” Finally I decided that I would end this embarrassment by searching until I found a quote that spoke to me. I looked at quotes for hours, and hours, and then a couple more, but none of the quotes stood out to me. Finally I just shut my computer and moved on to something else, with the idea in my head that it was just never meant to be.

Fast-forward several years later to this summer. In some spare time I was browsing the Internet, keeping myself entertained. Somehow I ended up on a quotes website, and on the first page of quotes under the category of creativity I saw it.

“There are two kinds of men who never amount to much: those who cannot do what they are told, and those who can do nothing else.”

- Cyrus Curtis

Now, I had never heard of Cyrus Curtis before, but this quote was the one I had been looking for all along, and thanks to our State President it now hangs over my desk. This quote speaks to me importantly in 3 ways. First, the implication that it takes work and determination to be successful, it just doesn’t happen by luck. Secondly, the idea of discipline, in which there is a need for order and responsibility in our world. But the last one, the third point, stuck out to me the most. The last phrase says that those that can’t do any more than what they are told will not be successful.

Here is where my love for creativity falls into place. We are all independent beings with great minds capable of imagination. But like the quote says, if we do not use that imagination, if we aren’t capable of having our own ideas, we won’t go anywhere. Think of all the people in history that became famous or are credited with making a change. They all used creativity to create a new product, invent a new technology, or came across an idea that was so beneficial it helped shape the world to be what it is today. Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, the list goes on and on.

Each one of us is blessed with this gift of creativity, no matter how non-existent we think it is. For some of us it may be difficult to use at first, but over time it will grow into one of our strongest strengths. Also, never be afraid to show your creative side. Whether in a class discussion or group project, always share your imaginative, creative ideas, and be sure to encourage those of your peers.

After all, who knows? Someday your words of wisdom could become that sought-after quote.

A Winding Road

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 23:11:00 +0000

The sun was going down, the wind was coming up. Even so, I pedaled on. It is mid October and earlier on this day I had decided to end a busy week of classes by riding my bike on the Linear trail in Manhattan, KS. As I rode on I checked my phone for the time. It was nearly 9:30 pm, and I had started riding at 9. “Why is this ride taking me so long?” I asked myself. I felt as I was in fairly good shape and moving along at a good pace, and there was no way that this 4 mile trail should take more than half an hour to complete. Even with my doubts, I continued on riding on top of the dike protecting Manhattan from the Big Blue and Kansas Rivers.

Finally, I decided I had had enough. I stopped at the next sign with a map of Linear Trail. As I stood there frustrated, I looked at the map and noticed something. Linear Trail was in fact not 4 miles, but rather 10. Somehow I had gotten the incorrect distance online before I started. Mad at myself, I jumped back on my bike and sped off. After a short while I noticed that my seat had sunk down, so I slammed on my brakes, jumped off my bike, and readjusted it. At this time I choose to take a deep breath and look around me. In all of my previous frustration, I had managed to not take in the sights around me. As I took in a deep breath I noticed how beautiful the stars were, and how the wind gently rippled through the grass as it blew over the meadows. It was definitely a sight to see as the lights from Manhattan glowed in the distance. Before I could get back on my bike, an idea came out of nowhere and smacked me right in the back of the head.

“Just because you don’t know the turns in the path doesn’t mean you won’t get to your destination.”

Bam, talk about a revelation. At first, I rejected this idea, as I am a very detailed orientated person. If I want to do something, I will stress over every single detail so I can see how it will pan out. But within seconds, this philosophy started to grow on me. We may know what we want our end destination to be, but there can be a lot hidden in the valley between mountains A and B. Most of the time we don’t even have control over what that is. Now I’m not saying that we shouldn’t put work or effort into preparation, or no thought into our actions, but rather we need to put our strength and trust in others as well as ourselves, and know that God has a plan for us whatever that may be. Life can work in mysterious ways, ones that we may push away from us at first, but once we reach our destination we couldn’t think of doing it any other way.

I hopped back on my bike and continued on, pedaling a little slower this time. I gazed about me and took in every sight I could see. I trusted this mighty trail, as I knew that many have ridden it before me and finished successfully. I heard the wind rustle the few leaves still on the trees, felt the rock crush underneath my tires, and smelled the fog coming off the river.

It wasn’t long before I pulled back into the driveway and locked my bike up for the night. As I got off I couldn’t help but smile in thought of the previous situation.

As the end of this semester comes closer, we may find ourselves wondering what our future has in store for us. As high school seniors, we may still be deciding on what path we are to take after graduation, college students may be questioning their current major or class schedule, and each and everyone of us always has something in our future that we may not know how to reach. Don’t allow your frustration with not being in total control prevent you from enjoying this ride. You are in good hands, have faith in yourself, and keep pedaling onward towards that horizon.

Warning: Not Very Friendly

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 22:10:00 +0000

It read, "Please do not put your hands inside my pen, I am NOT friendly." Taped to the outside of a pen, this sign warned visitors about Chance, the 1287 pound crossbred steer that received the honor of being named the Grand Champion Market Beef at the Kansas State Fair. Chance wasn’t a bad tempered steer by any means, just a little ornery as he showed us that he liked to scratch his forehead on the bars of the panels. But since many visitors to the Kansas State Fair may not understand his antics, we decided to post this appropriate warning to ensure no one would be injured by unknowingly putting their hands in a position to be pinched.

While I was helping take care of Chance, I entered his pen numerous times to bring him water or brush off all the wood chips off of him. At no point did he ever show aggression or put me in a situation where I didn’t feel safe. However, some visitors took the posted caution to an extreme, and wouldn’t even allow their children to come within several feet of his pen.

Just because of his appearance of being unfriendly, individuals did not feel comfortable in approaching him to marvel at his attributes.

I believe that this situation happens in numerous places, many of which take place not at the fair, but in our schools and communities. Just like Chance, we all have attributes that make us great, but we have a small problem. Others will never approach us for help or to learn our skills if we have a large yellow paper taped to us that exclaims “Not Friendly.” We must be more open and willing to welcome in others that may not feel at home so that they can benefit from what we have learned. We need to commit to an approachable attitude and show that we are friendly by working with our fellow members, whether it is practicing for a CDE as a team, sharing some successful tips about your SAE with another member, or helping freshmen out with the transition to high school.

It is amazing how much of a difference and an impact you can make on others by just opening up and being willing to help them. As we get into the swing of things this year, let’s take down that warning sign on our backs, and replace it with one of advertisement for our enthusiasm to help others.

Venturing West

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 17:03:00 +0000

This past Friday, a pickup truck packed with 3 guys, a tent, 20 pounds of trail mix, and a map bumped along Hwy 96 headed for Colorado. For the first time in my life, I was headed out to the mountains. This was a new experience for me, and sometimes I imagined myself as a pioneer venturing westward toward a new chapter of life. However, the cold A/C and the speedometer reading 65 miles per hour brought me back to reality. For this three-day getaway we had no concrete plan, just the goal to visit Pike’s Peak and camp out under the pines.

We passed through nearly a dozen small towns as the elevation rose up toward Colorado Springs. However, one stuck out to me specifically. Before entering Eads, Colorado, I noticed a sign along the highway painted a familiar blue and gold. “Eads FFA Welcomes You,” it stated. It was just a sign, but it made a connection to me and gave me a sense of belonging even though I was 400 miles from home.

As August and the beginning of a new school year rolls around, we will all have the opportunity to welcome new members into our FFA chapters. Just as pioneers venturing west, students entering high school are creating a new chapter in their lives. It is vitally important that as an organization we welcome those new students. They may have a general idea of where they want to go in their life, but we must be there to help fill in the gaps and develop their skills. As FFA members and leaders, we have the great opportunity to help fellow members unlock their potential and discover their passion for agriculture.

After a few days of exploring the Rocky Mountains, my dad, brother, and I headed back east on Hwy 96. We had survived a surprised hailstorm, explored numerous miles of logging roads, and made a lot of memories. And once again, I saw a familiar blue and gold sign outside of Eads, Colorado. “Eads FFA Welcomes You.”

I believe that we need to remember to welcome not just new FFA members, but also those community and past FFA members who impact our organization. Our communities provide an amazing amount of support for our organization, and without them we would not be able to accomplish nearly as much. This year, let’s make sure to show our true appreciation for those around us and also welcome in a new group of members who will help us venture to new heights.

But before I end my first blog post, here are some quick facts about myself.

1. My family consists of an older brother and my two parents. (They are quite amazing!)

2. Our family enjoys building vehicles to thrash at the off-road vehicle park (This one didn't survive very long).

3. I have a lot of fun showing hogs at the county fair.

4. The Meats Evaluation CDE was definitely my favorite.

5. I love FFA!!! and my great teammates!

Kansas FFA, how will you welcome others this year?

The Power of Words

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 20:27:00 +0000

Have you ever sat back and thought about words? I mean really just thought about what they are and what they do. Go ahead and take a second to do that. Impressive, right? In case it hasn't dawned on you let me elaborate. The English language has a total of twenty-six letters that make up every word used in any conversation, every word ever written, and every thought you have probably uses words comprised up of those very same letters.

Here's some more perspective. The Harry Potter series has over 1,000,000 words in it, but only twenty-six letters. It blows my mind that such an elaborate story can be told by simply rearranging such a limited number of letters.

It's quite possible I have an awkward obsession with words. Not only do I love books, speaking, and poetry, but I want to write, speak, and be poetic. My heart definitely falls prey to the ability of quotes to portray emotion and thought. I keep an inspirational quote written on my mirror to see every morning to kick start my day. Five quotes are written on my pawn shop acoustic guitar to show my love for music. Four documents on my computer are full of quotes to inspire, provoke thought, and motivate. However there is one quote written on a piece of paper that I've never lost. It currently hangs above my desk so that I can look at it anytime. It reads as follows.

"You will have many careers during your lifetime, so don't be pressured into thinking you have to decide what you want to do for the rest of your life. Just decide what you want to do first."

Now I do not who originally said these words but the man they came to me from makes them all the more special. My dad found this quote and wrote it down to give to me my senior year of high school. When he gave it to me I was at a point where I hadn't a clue what I wanted to do with my life. These words really set in my mind not to worry and just work towards what comes first.

FFA has been one of the biggest guides for my working towards a career. Through Career Development Events I have learned about many jobs I would love to have, and even more about ones I hope to never have. Through public speaking I can now better express myself through words. From the socialization in FFA I have great friends to share words with. Simply FFA has me feeling comfortable that whatever career I start in I will be successful.

I encourage all of you reading this to find some words that comfort you and give you motivation. Whether it's the motivational story of Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Suess or a quote by a revolutionary mind such as Ralph Waldo Emerson or Henry Ford, even song lyrics can be your choice for comforting words. Just take a moment to marvel at the power of words made up of only twenty-six little letters.

I'm proud to say that this post uses all twenty-six letter (I checked) and has a total of 561 words (thanks word count!). Now I'm going to get myself a cup of coffee, read a bit, and maybe even start writing some poetry.

Decide with Confidence!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 15:58:00 +0000

Every day we are faced with at least a few decisions. According to studies the average human makes about 612 decisions in a single day. This adds up to 4284 decisions a week and 223,380 decisions a year. I'm awake for somewhere around 16 hours every day. Assuming I make the same amount of decisions in a day as the average person and those decisions are equally spread out over time then I am making a decision once every minute and 34 seconds. That seems quite frequent to me.

I don't like to think of myself as "average" and I hope you don't think of yourself as "average" either. Everyone is a unique individual with knowledge and talents specific to them and them only. I have noticed many people don't seem confident in who they are. This worries me. Every decision you make defines who you are so make them with some confidence! Be proud of yourself and your uniqueness. If you do something that seems weird to the "average" person but it makes you happy then why should you hide it? Next time you make a decision make it with some confidence and be happy with yourself for doing so.

Yes I know being "different" can be scary. Very few people want to be the one who sticks out in a crowd. However is it not a leaders responsibility to stick out? A leader cannot simply blend in with a crowd or they will not be noticed and will therefore have a difficult time leading.

Here's the kicker though. I find oftentimes the first follower is the greatest leader of all. Without that first follower the leader is accomplishing nothing. The first person to follow sets the tone that what the leader is doing is acceptable. Every additional follower just ratifies this until the amazing moment when the act being done by the leader is completely acceptable.

While this may all sound a little crazy take travel into space for example. Originally the people that tried were considered downright crazy. Many people thought that strapping some rockets to a chair would do the trick. Honestly as a little kid I probably wondered why that wouldn't work. Nevertheless the idea of travel into space was not abandoned. Eventually the space race ensued and later people even have had the opportunity to walk on the moon. Now there is even a private program that will send individuals to Mars on a one way trip starting in 2025. The entire plan is to start colonizing it. All it takes to be considered is an application (with some qualifications) and a small fee. By September last year 2782 people had sent in their application.

At this point in time you will not be seeing me send in an application but by the time I have gone through the work force and then retired who knows. There might be an awesome retirement center on Mars. By that time it might even be commonplace to consider leaving Earth.

Basically the whole idea is that being confident in an idea or decision can make great things happen. At the time you may seem crazy or out of place, but as more people agree and follow the idea becomes more acceptable and maybe even common. I challenge you to make decisions with confidence! You never know what it may mean down the road to yourself and others. I can personally guarantee that at least 598 of the decisions I make today I will make confidently and if I see someone trying something different I won't judge them. Their actions today may be the normal of tomorrow. Now excuse me as I go start building a time machine...

It's Banquet Season Folks!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 04:50:00 +0000

Starting as early as the beginning of February and ending around the end of May, chapters across the state of Kansas are having their chapter banquets. At these banquets, the chapters award their FFA members, local community, and school faculty on their successes throughout the year. Many chapter banquets also give out scholarships to the senior members to either continue their education or begin their college career. Finally, chapters also elect new leadership to serve as chapter officers.

I have had the opportunity to attend quite a few banquets so far and get to experience all the successes that these chapters have had. Each one has been amazing and I can’t wait to visit more!

This is the Logan FFA Chapter and myself! Such a positive, motivated, and caring chapter with tons of potential! Truly enjoyed every second spent with them.

This was my first chapter banquet of the year, Fairfield FFA Chapter! They were very welcoming, enthusiastic, charismatic! Can't wait to hear and see all the accomplishments they will have in the future!

Here are two seniors from the South Barber FFA Chapter, Ciera Houlton and Micaela Kirkwood. Both were recipients of FFA Scholarships that will go towards their college education!

Here is the instillation of new chapter officers at the Marais Des Cygnes Valley FFA Chapter Banquet. The new team has got some great potential and really excited to see where they will go from here!

Banquets are an exciting time of the year! If you're an FFA Member, enjoy your banquet. If you're a community member or high school faculty ask your local FFA chapter or area chapter when their banquet is and I encourage you to attend it to support the FFA chapter! Happy banquet season everyone! :)

Collecting Your Passion

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 05:27:00 +0000

Some people love to hunt and are completely obsessed with it, some are the same way with Justin Bieber, and Starbucks coffee. It has taken me quite awhile to discover what I’m completely obsessed with and love, but I’ve now discovered it. I’m obsessed with the Wizard of Oz, but more importantly, Dorothy. Ever since Black Friday shopping with a friend of mine, Tres Short, and purchasing my first Wizard of Oz memorabilia (a life size Dorothy cut out), the addiction has grown, and grown a lot. I’ve now accumulated two large posters and will be receiving in the mail (thanks to eBay) a 100-piece puzzle, a Tin Man trashcan, and a Dorothy Pillow. Who knows where my collection will go from there.

In life, we have the opportunity to participate in many different activities. We can play on sports teams, join clubs and organizations, or even have an after-school job. If you were like me, you wanted to participate in any and everything. You wanted to run cross-country, go to every Career Development Event and activity the FFA has to offer, and have an after-school job. In college, you wanted to sign up for every campus activity, apply for all the clubs and organizations, and be involved in all the intramurals.

It’s taken me awhile to discover this, but my mom called me up the other night and goes, “Honey, (yes my mom still calls me honey) you are running yourself crazy. You need to just find a few things you really like and focus your time and energy on them.” At that point it just clicked. I don’t need to do everything. I need to find the things I’m truly passionate about and focus on them. Just like my Wizard of Collection, I discovered what I truly cared about and loved and started my collection. I look at it like this, why put my time and energy into collecting Justin Bieber stuff when I really could care less about him. We need to focus on the things in life that we enjoy.

How can we discover what we love and are passionate about? I challenge you all to find that one thing that you are truly passionate about and dedicate your time towards it; whether that be your sports team, FFA Chapter, or after school job. Put your time into it and maybe you’ll find what you really love, just like I did with my Wizard of Oz collection!

“If you want to fly and move on to better things, you have to give up the things that weigh you down – which is not always as obvious and easy as it sounds.” Unknown

“Do what your heart desires, never hold back a thing, and don’t worry so much about what the others think, because at the end of the day, what makes you happy is what really matters the most.” Unknown

Who Would've Thought?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 01:28:00 +0000

We all know the saying, “Dogs are a man’s best friend,” right? Well that is true, but since I'm at college I can't bring my dog; therefore, I've resulted into purchasing two of the most ornery, wild, and enthusiastic Betta fish in the world, Marty and Martha. They are quite the characters. I purchased Marty and Martha November first at the aquarium here in Manhattan, Kansas and it was one of the best days of my life, but seriously.

I have surprisingly gained and learned quite a bit from my two fish. I've learned that I can't feed them too much or they'll die (no brainer), they can't be put into the same bowl or they'll try and kill each other (found that out the hard way), and that they prefer clean water rather than month long dirty water (pretty obvious). Besides how fish act and behave, I've gained a couple valuable life lessons. I've gained responsibility and discipline simply from owning two Betta fish. Who would have thought that owning these fish could be so beneficial.

One thing in the FFA that I think is overlooked sometimes is our Supervised Agricultural Experiences. We can gain so many skills and so much knowledge from working with our programs. I started my Supervised Agricultural Experience my Freshman year in high school and to this day I am still very involved in it. My SAE is Wildlife Production and Management where I help out with my family's hunting operation. I have gained so much from my SAE. I've obtained communication skills, responsibility, and time management. I encourage everyone, in or out of the FFA, to start some sort of program wether it be purchasing your own livestock, helping out with a fruit stand, or even purchasing yourself a couple of fish because in the end you will leave with much more than you put in!

Peanut Butter and Jelly

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:13:00 +0000

“We go to together like peanut butter and jelly”. “We’re like two peas in a pod”. “I’m stuck on you like white on rice”. Okay so maybe you haven’t heard of the last one but the first two phrases, I hope, are pretty familiar. Now these great food analogies are most of the time used when describing friends that are pretty close. Many times these are the friends that are inseparable on the playground, eat lunch together on a daily basis, or regularly make some form of communication to keep in touch. These friends are the lifelong ones that you know, through hell and high water, will be there for you because they care about you. But the real question is are you reciprocating that feeling?

Think about it, we have been blessed with some truly incredible people in our lives that care so much about us! Our best friends, family members, coaches, mentors and so many more are all part of our support team. These are the people that have continued to help us achieve our goals, been there for us when we are down, and helped us to pick ourselves up and keep moving! They are our biggest cheerleaders, best motivators and sometimes our own personal therapists. But do we do the same for them?

I know that I would love to say yes to being there every time for those people I care but I know that there are times in my life that I have not held up my end of the deal when it comes to relationships. Looking back I can pinpoint times in my life when I could have done a better job at being a friend, role model, or teammate and I am sure that there are numerous times when I have not held up my end of the deal and totally didn’t even realize it. Let’s be honest we are all guilty of it, maybe it was forgetting a friends birthday, not taking the time out to give a few pointers to the kid playing on the basketball team we are coaching or not trying to reach a compromise and instead just storming out. The key is to try and remember that we are supposed to hold up our end of the bargain in every relationship and to continue to not just take, take, take but to give in return.

A quote that I have used to help me to keep this in perspective is by Scott Stratten. Scott was in a TED talk that I was advised to watch and had some very interesting and key points that were interesting to think on. The big message he had to share however was this. “Being a big deal, isn’t a big deal, especially if we don’t remember to be a bigger deal to the people we care about.”

Take some time and think on that. If we aren’t a bigger deal to those around us that helped let us become a “big deal” than we aren’t really a big deal. Our accomplishments, our successes all become worth nothing if we don’t take the time to give back to those who took the time and effort to support us and helped us to become successful. These friends, family members, coaches and mentors have helped you achieve the status of “big deal” and because of that they deserve a little pat on the back. So think back to those few people you consider the peanut butter to your jelly, the next pea in your pod; are you showing them the support that they have shown you?

“If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere.”- Zig Ziglar

Wear Your Letters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 05:00:00 +0000

I know it has been a while since I have written one of these and I am really sorry about that! To all my food fans out there I am sorry as well, the next few paragraphs will have nothing to do with food… I know shocking! No, but seriously I wanted to take this time and talk about something I have forgot lately. This next quote will pretty much sum it all up so here it goes.

“From the moment you say yes to this organization, you are always wearing your letters.”

I saved this quote after a conversation I had with one of my friends in another fraternity here at K-State. To give a little background we had been noticing this picture kept coming up on Facebook for a couple of our “mutual friends” as Facebook calls them. This picture was of a fraternity member holding up a sign that talked about being a part of a fraternity and not a “frat”. Since we study together quite frequently together I brought up the topic of that picture to see what he thought about it. He quickly sent me to a blog post by a man named T.J. Sullivan. Then as any great, frustrating friend would, he would not talk to me anymore until I had read it.

I started to read the blog casually, not entirely too focused and more worried about which song was coming up next on my iTunes, until that quote in bold came up. Now I don’t know about anyone else but when something comes up in bold I normally pay more attention to it. After reading and rereading the quote several times I decided to go back to the beginning of the blog and really pay attention to the words that this man, with obviously much more experience and wisdom than I had, had wrote.

(For those of you who wish to read the blog before going on here is the link) http://tjsullivan.com/you-are-always-wearing-your-letters/

After I finished, I took it all in and then said something to my friend sitting across the table. Since he had a test the next morning at 8:30 and it was already pretty late he didn’t say much back. I was fine with that since I had my own homework assignment to be working on, and the only reason I had even mentioned this was because I had fallen into the time wasting trap of social media… again. So I dropped the topic and after quickly saving the quote and the article on my flash drive I continued to work on my homework.

I still don’t know how or why and am still kinda laughing about how God continues to place things where I need it, when I need it, but I just stumbled across this article in my flash drive again very recently. As I read and re-read the article again I looked back on my past few weeks of my life.

Now I am going to preface this next little part with the fact that I am a normal human being with a normal range of emotion and the rest of my team is a bunch of “soulless robots” when it comes to sad movies such as Marley and Me and Toy Story 3, sad songs such as “This is Your Life” by Switchfoot, and other “emotional” situations. Not really, but I for some reason am the only person on my team that tends to cry, and I don’t hardly ever cry, like at all!

But anyways, I did proceed to have what I like to call an “emotional life pause”. I realized that I being a human being had made some mistakes recently and I had wronged some people. I was not “wearing my letters” as the article had stated and I needed to make some changes.

Now in the article “wearing your letters” referred to the Greek letters that many fraternities use to distinguish themselves from one another. But to me “the letters” were a different set than my fraternity. F-F-A was the three letters that kept coming to mind after reading that powerful statement.

For those of you who haven’t went up to check out the link yet, I would urge you to please do, this saves me quite a bit of writing and Mr. Sullivan does a much more eloquent job of explaining it than I can. But to sum it up how much different would we act if our “letters” were tattooed to our foreheads for everyone to see? How much different would we act if everyone could see which organization we were in all the time? What would we do differently?

I am going to finish this blog post up with a quote that was on my chapter’s FFA T-Shirts my sophomore year of high school. It comes from one of my personal favorite movies “Stomp The Yard” and it is pretty neat if you take some time and think about it.

“The letters do not make you, YOU make the letters”

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:59:00 +0000

“People often say motivation doesn’t last… Well neither does bathing, that’s why we recommend it daily.”- Zig Ziglar

What delicious drink is the start of America’s morning? What caffeinated brew helps college students keep awake to finish their papers at 2 in the morning? What is the energy-giving source to get us through our “morning grind”?

Yes, that’s right, Coffee. We have to admit that in the United States we are pretty avid coffee fans. Think about it. According to Folger’s “It’s the best part of waking up” and “America runs of it” according to Dunkin’ Donuts. Starbucks, is a huge multi-million dollar chain solely run on selling coffee. As a culture we love coffee and I have to say that I am no exception.

Yep I am in love with that rich, dark, smell good, piping hot, caffeinated, drink. My unhealthy obsession may stem from the fact that anytime I go to the grocery store I have to go down the coffee bean aisle to get a whiff of that heavenly brew. Or maybe it was because I wanted to grow up and be like my Papa Bill with his slippers on and coffee mug in hand every morning. Whatever it is, my love for coffee has continued to grow and has only been fueled more by my entrance into college.

Now, I will have to admit that as a college student I probably do not drink too much above the average amount. But, on a brisk fall morning there is nothing better than sitting down and enjoying a Mocha Frappuccino that is piping hot. That feeling of the warm coffee going down and warming up your stomach, the feeling of the caffeine rushing through your veins and waking up entire body is a truly amazing experience for me.

This caffeine though, not only gets me, but also millions of other American’s across the nation, going and has been the morning startup for decades. Caffeine gives me the energy to go out and start my day off right and get my to-do list accomplished for the day!

But caffeine is not the only thing that gets me pumped and ready to take on the day’s challenges. Oh no, in the morning my fire gets a burnin’ if I start off my day with a run or swim workout. Or in midday my adrenaline starts to flow if I go out and play a game of soccer or volleyball. These things will get my body ready for the day and help keep it ready and going. But we have to think for ourselves what gets our minds and inspiration going every single day.

For me the caffeine, or energizers, of my inspiration can come from anything and everything. I don’t know how many times I have been going throughout my day and all of a sudden, BOOM, a jewel of inspiration comes along and motivates me to go out and do something. These gems of motivation have come from listening to a motivational speaker talk about constant and never-ending growth, having a conversation with an industry leader in agriculture about the need for students with good work ethic and hands on skills, or even from watching Paula Dean on the Food Network make a new twist on an old classic to name a few. The inspiration that I have comes from a variety of different sources but all has the same effect. It energizes me and gets me going just like my morning coffee does.

Think about what motivates and energizes you throughout your day. Is it going out and having a conversation with someone about an issue you are passionate about? Is your caffeine in the creation of a new recipe or developing a science experiment to test a new hypothesis? Is your motivation stemming from a motivational quote you have taped to your mirror or the set of goals you look at everyday? What is your caffeine in your life?

The Jalapenos of My Life

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:18:00 +0000

"It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not. Sometimes it takes a dog with bad breath, worse manners, and pure intentions to help us see. Ask yourself, how many people in the world can truly make you feel rare, pure, and extraordinary?" - Marley and Me

Have you ever tried to eat a habanero pepper just raw? Well I haven’t either but my friend who relayed his experience once told me that if I ate a jalapeño and magnified it by 100 then I would have the feeling. To understand what my friend meant I tried eating a jalapeno raw, and let me tell you it was almost like nothing I had ever tried before. Not only is there almost an immediate burning sensation, but also it lasts throughout the entire day and keeps burning and hurting and won’t stop! It made my whole face warm, brought me to pretty close to tears and made me just look ridiculous.

Now the reason I said it was almost like nothing I had ever tried before is because even though it wasn’t a food I have similar experience with two people. These people have at times made me a little hot-headed, brought me close to tears and sometimes still make me look a little ridiculous. As odd as it sounds they have made and will hopefully continue to make me feel just like that jalapeno did.

You may be thinking right now, “Ha, this is easy he is going to just talk about his family”. In a way, you are right. I do consider these people my twin brother and big sister, but they don’t live with me, nor do we share any of the same DNA. Yep, you guessed it. These are my two best friends that I would trust anything, absolutely anything with. Now I am not saying that they are the only people I would do that with, because my immediate family and blood relatives I would as well, and I love them just as much! But, it is more of a challenge to trust the people that are not blood and be able to say you could trust your life with them.

But these two jalapenos in my life can sure be a kicker, like eating a jalapeno raw, or they can be the perfect garnish to the enchilada that is my life. Either way, I believe they are necessary to for me to continue to grow as a person, socially, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

I have to say that when it comes to talking, yelling, and projecting my voice I do a good job…sometimes too good of a job. Okay, I enjoy talking a little too much. I love interacting with people and telling my family and friends stories about my day and things I learned about food…because I am obsessed with FOOD! But, have you ever had issues with someone because they are just too much like you? Well one of my best friends literally is the loudest person I have ever been around and probably likes talking even more than I do. She can talk and talk and talk about anything and sound intelligent about it. On top of that she has one of the loudest laughs I have ever heard as well. Now, don’t get the impression that she is just this non-stop obnoxious loud chatterbox, because that is the impression I got my freshman and sophomore year and man was I wrong.

I will admit this person is a big reason I was ever enrolled in an agriculture education class and I am eternally grateful to her for that. But once we started travelling together, were on an officer team together for the first year, started interacting with each other more and more, I began to realize that our two personalities were clashing a bit more and more each week. It got to the point to me where I would go home and vent about her to my family about how loud she was and we just were not getting along. My mom continued to let this venting go on until she realized that I did not see it the way she could see. She saw, that I was complaining about someone who I had so much in common with, so much history with, so many personality traits that we shared, and that I needed to stop.

My mom and dad’s sit down chat with me that night changed my life in ways that I could never have fathomed that night. Not only did it make me realize how ridiculous all the fighting was but the potential friend that I was missing out on. Jo and I soon became friends, then best friends, and now attending college together and just being together as much as we have she is like an older sister to me. She gives me all the advice an older sibling, that I never had, would, she allows me to talk to her about anything and she just has become one of the best role models I have ever had and I feel so privileged to call her my friend.

So imagine someone who is 6’ 6”, dirty blond hair color, and is a super athlete, enough so he is playing both football and basketball on the college level. This pretty much describes my twin and total opposite of me in terms of looks. Now when I say twin I mean that we have been friends since pre-school and were only born 9 days apart, not that we are anything alike.

Nick and I attended pre-school, grade school, middle school and high school together and this year is the first year we have ever been apart in school together, with him attending Baker University and me at KSU. Nick and I started off in some of the same sports, then, well lets just say the cream of the crop started to rise and those of us who were not so “gifted” stayed at the bottom. That is not to say I didn’t still try and stay active in sports. I was a 4-year member of the swim team and 3-year member of the soccer team in high school, so don’t say I didn’t try. But I still tried to stay in shape, just was not at peak physical fitness like Nick was.

One drawback however, of the athletic giftedness of Nick is that he was not able to attend many FFA events. Now I knew Nick liked the FFA but his passion was competing in sports. Whether it was a pick-up game of basketball or the regional championship of a football game he was always trying to win. Watching Nick follow his passion inspired me to really find my passion in something.

I tried sports, I liked them but I was not passionate about them. I attempted to be involved in the drama dept. in high school and that wasn’t quite my cup of tea. Then agriculture education class happened. I luckily found an organization that I was passionate about and an industry that I could be proud of. So I took hold of every opportunity I could in class and found Nick and I continuing to go in more and more different paths in high school.

When I realized that I had lost my friend in the total wrapped up state I was in with FFA I realized a need in the shift for my priorities. I started to take the time to set aside different things and hang out with Nick and my other friends that I had pushed away while I was caught up in the FFA world. This shift in my priorities was probably the biggest change I had in myself and realizing that the personal connections I make with not only my friends but also anyone I meet was vital.

Nick has taught me so much throughout my life and about how I should live it. Not only did he teach me to find my passion but taught me that the relationships I build with people are some of the most important and meaningful things I have in my life. These lessons I will hold with me my entire life no matter what I do.

My two best friends in my recipe to life have taught me so much and are two people I look up to so much. There are so many times that I could have been a better friend and took them for granted at times. But I know that they will be there for me through thick and thin and through whatever challenges I may have no matter what. They empower me to achieve my goals and never try and drag me down. Johanna and Nick are those two jalapeños in my life. Who are yours?

“Stay away from people who belittle your aspirations. Small people do that. But the truly great people in the world will make you believe that you, too, can one day become great.”- Mark Twain

State Fair Wisdom

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 03:41:00 +0000

“I may not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future”- Ralph Abernathy

Each year the State Officers get a chance to stay for some time at the Kansas State Fair. This time is filled with the smell of fried foods, watching the livestock shows, hearing all the screams from the carnival rides and did I mention the fried food? This year as a State Officer team we were charged with taking care of the Grand Drive animals after they were selected and take care of them throughout the week so the families and exhibitors of the families could go home and go back to school. Since during the week thousands of elementary students come through the State Fair and our Grand Drive Barn specifically, making it Kansas’ Largest Classroom, we decided to do something a bit more interactive to teach the science involved in food.

Food is a huge part of my life and I am obsessed with it! Not only do I enjoy eating it, which is why fair time is one of my favorite times of the year, but I like learning about it. So when the chance to teach students about food became available I was super excited. We had two experiments at the state fair for the kids coming through the barn. My personal favorite was an experiment showing the iron content in breakfast cereal.

In our breakfast cereal we get many nutrients that are hidden or woven in enough to the grain that we cannot taste them or see them. A great example of a nutrient that we need but wouldn’t’ just eat it on its own is iron. To show that iron is in your normal everyday breakfast cereal and to get kids involved we had them crush up a couple Wheaties in a plastic bag into the smallest pieces they could get them. Then the students took a button magnet and put it the cereal and whaa laa! Iron.

Not only were the students surprised to see the small black specks and pieces of the cereal sticking to the magnet, they had the realization that more is in our food than they would think.

But this experience benefited more than just the elementary students that day. As it seems with every time we don’t expect to get hit with knowledge and wisdom, BAM! It happens. As I was helping first graders crush up cereal, I took a look back and realized that these students were learning something from me. I was having an impression on these kids.

What a scary thought that I had an impression on these students that will be growing up and leading and teaching other people. It soon becomes this whole cycle of teaching, learning, teaching someone else the information you have gained from other people. It soon became evident to me that my knowledge and passion for food is worth nothing unless it is shared with others.

This holds true for any passion of ours. Whether we are obsessed with rebuilding engines, fascinated with making our cattle herd better with genetics, have a passion for vineyards, or are like me and love food, we need to share that passion and our knowledge of it with others because if we don’t share that knowledge and wisdom then what use is it after we pass on.

I firmly believe in never-ending self-improvement. But with that comes realization it can’t be just ourselves that are improving. We should strive to help those around us grow as well. Our nation’s youth are those individuals that will take up any challenges that we did not complete. They are the future of our country and are who will be determining if we will continue to be successful.

Take time in your life to share your passion with someone, anyone in your life. It can be your grandma, brother, best friend or random stranger, but please just share it, because we don’t know when the chances to share what we have gained and learned will end. Also, remember who holds the future and who will continue on our traditions and success’.

“The time is always right to do what is right.”- MLK Jr.

My Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 00:28:00 +0000

"The greatest risk is the risk of riskless living.”- Stephen Covey

So quotes are basically the only thing I collect, but man do I collect quite a bit of them. Not only have I saved up inspirational quotes but also funny ones, things that my mom has said, things my teachers have said, quotes on my favorite movie, etc… I have only been doing it for the past two years now and have really enjoyed always being able to look back on the word documents I have saved in case I need a little inspiration or a good laugh. But these quotes can always show me quite a bit of where I have been and are a good reminder of where I should be going. The one up top in particular is one that I try and live my life by, but you will hear more about that in the coming blogs.
So since this is my first blog I figured I should start off by telling you that I love food… A LOT! Because of this most of my blogs will probably be food themed. Now I am not one of those hard food critics or someone who knows a ton of facts about food, but it is a passion of mine and I love finding new recipes and trying them out. So to introduce myself to you, reader, I am going to tell you the recipe of my life

Ingredients:

2 Great Parents
1 Cupful of Little Brother
1 Tsp. of Little Sister
I have such a great family at home in Osawatomie, KS. They have been truly the reason that I have been so successful not only in the FFA, but in my life in general. They are always there to support me, lift me up when I am down, reign me in when I am getting to far away from my family values, and always love me no matter how many mistakes I have made. My amazing parents are Doug and Rexanne Laudan. They have raised me in such a way that I would not trade it for anything in the world. My brother and sometimes partner in crime, Rylan, is the dreamer of the family and has an extreme love of animals. He has gone crazy this year with all kinds of new stories about his first herd of goats, his first year on the East Kansas Swine Series and his new Donkey, Cletus. My little sister, Morgan, is the athlete and we joke that every drop of athletic gene went to her. She is a crazy softball, volleyball, and her favorite basketball, player and has more skills in all of those than I could ever hope for.

9 Whole Years at Holy Trinity Grade School
I grew up in a Catholic Grade School, Kindergarten through 8th grade, where I saw the 18 faces I graduated from 8th grade with every single day. It was a lot of fun having such a tight knit class, where we treated each other like family. And yes that means like brothers and sisters, who fight sometimes, but love each other in the end. We had the best cook in the whole wide world who I still visit sometimes for her famous Cinnamon Rolls, which I still don’t have the recipe for. After 8th grade 16 of us went on to Paola High School and two to St. Thomas Aquinas in Overland Park. Even though I have made lots of new friends, my best friends are still the people from Holy T(that is what we called our school) and they will be for the rest of my life.

4 All-Purpose Years at Paola High School

After graduating from small, wonderful, family Holy T, I was thrown to the big dogs of high school. I went from a class size of 18 to 148 and was not excited to start. Then the whole, kid is afraid of high school, kid finds a place/home in ag class, kid finds he actually likes high school, classic story happened. After my freshman year I was more involved and got to see that a class of 148 wasn’t so bad and now can name everyone in my class by face name recognition. I became involved in Soccer, Swim Team, Track, Scholars Bowl, Drama Club, FBLA, NHS and really liked it all. I made a bunch more friends and got heavily involved in the FFA and my academics. It was a wild, up and down ride but I have got to say I enjoyed every minute of it!

5+ Quotes Word Documents
Like I said earlier I collect a lot of quotes and I really enjoy them here are some of my favorites:

“Scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock crushes lizard, lizard poisons Spock, Spock smashes scissors, scissors decapitates lizard, lizard eats paper, paper disproves Spock, Spock vaporizes rock, and as it always has, rock crushes scissors.”- Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory

“I wore a tanktop today because I thought it was summer and no one taught me how to read a calendar.” – Brittany from Glee

“I’m more confused than a cow on astro-turf.”- Alicia, one of my high school friends

“Careful driving, don’t want to hit a pterodactyl…”-Mom

"Bein' rich is having leftovers. Good leftovers make yo' tongue fly outta yo' mouth and smack yo' brains out."- Paula Deen

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond imagination. It is our light more than our darkness which scares us. We ask ourselves – who are we to be brilliant, beautiful, talented, and fabulous. But honestly, who are you to not be so?”- Marianne Williamson

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”- Martin Luther King Jr.

Favorite Things (Add To Taste)
I have a lot of favorite things in this wonderful world, so here are some of them: The Big Bang Theory(TV Show), Glee, Grape Dr. Pepper, Mashed Potatoes, U.S. Food Service Dill Pickles, Microwave Popcorn, Biscuits and Gravy, The Lion King(Movie), Avatar(Movie), Mean Girls(Movie), Risk(Board Game), Apples to Apples(Board Game), Parliamentary Procedure CDE, 4-H, Showing Pigs, the colors green and blue or any combination thereof, Giraffes, Bruno Mars, Relient K, Matt Maher, Zac Brown Band, Switchfoot, mint gum(with braces on now just mints) and eating food, lots of food!

1 Amazing Organization
I love the FFA with all of my heart. It is this organization that has truly let me discover my talents and turn them into skills that I can use throughout my life. I have gained so many lifelong friends and mentors throughout my time in the FFA. I have learned so much about myself as a person and I truly believe that this organization, this one of a kind place, has built upon the foundation that has been laid by my parents and school years and made it into the person I am today.

Directions:
Take all the ingredients and throw into a mixer. Bake in the oven for approximately 18 years. Take out of the oven and then you have the recipe for Nathan Laudan, KS FFA Reporter

So this is the recipe to my life. But remember, no two recipes are the same. Each of us is unique. Just like how everyone’s grandma’s chocolate-chip cookie recipes each have a unique touch, so do we. Remember that this uniqueness is what makes us, us, and no one can take that away from us.