Wednesday, August 7, 2013

The Beauty of Hard Work Paid Off

This past week held one of Jackson County's biggest attractions.  Yes, the Jackson County Fair was in full swing from Monday to Thursday packed with little youngsters ready to display their projects. Fair week is hands down the busiest week of summer. 

Elizabeth would you help me? Elizabeth what do I do? Elizabeth can you do this?  Being one of the oldest 4-Hers, I was asked to help by some of the younger members.  My nine year old sister was one of the 4-Hers who asked for my help showing her steer.  I showed her how to properly set up her steer and we discussed what the judge would be looking for in showmanship. She ended up getting a blue in showmanship and she won her heat in the Middleweight Crossbred class.  

When it came time to sell Thursday night, I got a little emotional. Not only because of all the time and effort I put into my steer but also because the eleven years I had been in 4-H were coming to a close. I went into the selling ring with a smile on my face and walked out with tears in my eyes. I walked back to my sister and a family friend, who were getting ready to sell,  to be supportive and help them if they needed help.  While walking back I saw my little friend crying so I went up and gave her a big hug. She was just sad for the end. I trudged on to find my sister so I could walk up with her. My sister walked right into the ring with a huge smile on her face but walked out with tears in her eyes. When my sister got done selling she came right up to me and told me, "I was just like you." 



(This is a picture of my sister and her steer she named Between right before the sale.)


At the time it was just a simple piece of advice that was offered for the younger children, however looking back at those long hours put into 4-H projects I realized that the time had paid off to the fullest.  The minutes and hours spent helping each of the 4-Hers could possibly impact them as future agriculturalists.  Sometimes we don't truly think about our actions and how they can affect the future generations.  How can we strive to make the best better? How do we make our actions count for the future agriculturists? How do we make our hard work pay off?