Farewell Medford

When I came to Medford about 5 years ago, I didn't really know what to expect. I was terrified with what was going to happen and honestly didn't want to move here at all. I hated the idea of making new friends and trying out new things. I was not motivated at all to try anything and it was a very dark time for me. Least to say, my days at Medford didn't start off all that great. Actually, they started off horrible.

Once I was here for a bit, I started making friends. No, they are not the people that I still hang out with today, but they were a start for me. I kind of went with the first people that said hello and were nice to me, which wasn't a whole lot. Let's face it, I was the strange kid that wore my sweatshirts zipped up to my neck in hopes of just hiding from this new world. I was happy I had people to sit with at lunch, but as time wore on I lost more and more of my old friends but couldn't seem to gain any new ones. I was having a pretty hard time with it.

But after 7th grade was finally overcame the start of a new year. This was the year I made the best decision of my life so far by joining the FFA. I was in the 8th grade exploratory and was forced to compete in the Small Animals CDE. Larson and Ovrebo started the process for me turning things around finally after so much struggle.

Since that first day in FFA, those two realized the potential I had, even when I didn't know it. I was an officer the year after, joined the poultry team, and started my amazing FFA career. I ended off my high school FFA career with a list of accomplishments, including my State Degree, Region Star in Agriscience, Top 3 in poultry at State, A world food prize internship and Region office. I could not have done any of that if it wasn't for those two people and everyone helping me along my way. It changed my life.


Looking back to all the memories my friends and I have had together, there are so many things that come to mind. All the dances, bonfires, and movie nights that we shared together. I can't believe that that kind of stuff is coming to an end. Our water fights were always a highlight just like prom. We had so many great times together and that made my high school career worth wild. We always had such a great time together.

As this whole transformation was occurring  I started to make some real friends that I would continue to be friends with until this day. I wouldn't trade anything for the friendships that I made throughout that 8th grade year. Even though there were some crazy issues with classic middle school drama, somehow we all made it through and are fine to this day.

Looking back, I don't know where I would be if I never moved here. But honestly, as much as people in the past have complained about Medford and everything that goes on here, I don't think I would trade any of it for the world. This place has forced me to grow and I think prepared me for the future as good as a high school career can. Even though there of course are some things that still bother me, it doesn't change the fact that this place did a lot of help.

So in the end, thank you Medford for the memories and life changes. Thank you for teaching me about what it means to want to try and do well. Thank you for letting me know that I can be successful no matter what happens. That even if I may fail, I can get back up from anything. Thank you for bringing my friends together and letting us make good choice throughout high school. Thanks for the seemingly endless nights and too long of days.Thank you for this, because I know I would not have had it another way. So long, and goodbye.

PROM!

I have to say, this was one of my favorite memories of high school. My prom this year was amazing, and I felt like the experience was a lot because of my friends. They really made my prom. Of course, on the same day as prom there had to be something else going on, which made for a very interesting morning. My older sister, Kristi, was getting her marriage blessed in the church that morning around noon. So I had to get my hair and makeup pretty much done, go to her ceremony, and then drive back down to Medford to take pictures . It was a crazy day but it was so worth it.

Starting with pictures, we were already having a blast. We went to Donahue's briefly to take some lovely pictures with flowers. After that we went to a senior living place to continue with pictures on the staircase and by the fireplace. We had tons of food and drinks there and hung out until it was time for grand march. Honestly, I had probably never felt better than I did that night. I loved my dress, loved my hair and my makeup and pretty much everything else that was going on.

Next, we had the dinner and dance. I was pleasantly surprised by how nice I thought the Vintage Ballroom was, even though it was in Faribault. I thought it fit its name very well and was a good size for the amount of kids that we had going there. Dinner was very good, mostly because I just love the taste of Alfredo. It was the perfect amount of food too. Then was the dance. The DJ was incredible I thought, and I loved how he played a little bit of every genera. I was tired by the end of the 3 1/2 hours of dancing and playing music, but of course it was totally worth it!

After prom was a blast too! The food is one of my favorite parts, because they seriously have some of the best stuff. I loved the fact they had Starbucks and Blast ice cream, because it just made the night even better. The hypnosis show was probably one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my entire life. I hadn't laughed that hard in awhile, and I think part of that was because everyone was completely out of it. After the show, we had fun earning tickets and getting a little too competitive when it came to bingo. We even got friendship lizards! I didn't win a whole lot at the after prom ticket drawings, but I really liked the senior clothes we got. It's strange to know that it was our last prom, but it was so much fun and I'm glad it ended on a good note.

The Future is Coming....

This is such a scary transition period for a lot of people, including myself. I can't believe that at this point in my life it is all coming to an end. We are closing in on the final days of our senior year and coming up on starting the summer before we all head off and go our separate ways. To be completely honest, I am very excited for what the future is going to bring, but I am also extremely worried and concerned about what this new future brings as well.

One of the biggest things that  I am concerned about is paying for college. It is one of my biggest worries and I think about it so much anymore. I worry with having to having to pay and the amount of debt I know I will have to be paying in the future. Of course, many people that I have talked to have told me not to worry about it because what happens happens. But I can't get over the fact of how many zeros are after those amounts. I've worked as hard as I think I could for scholarships but that can only take you so far.

Of course I also worry about the future of my education. I have a good idea of what I want to go into but I feel like I may be pulled into a very different direction. I worry I am not taking the adequate steps into making sure that everything is okay. I hope that my future will just work itself out as it has done for the people that came before me but I can't help but worry about it.

I don't know if this is a worry or a wonder, but either way it is constantly on my mind. I am always thinking about what my future life will be like and what will be going on. I think about if I'll marry anyone or when and how other things will turn out. I always think about this kind of stuff even though at this point I know that there isn't a whole lot that I can do to make something go one way or another. I am excited for the future to a point, but I am also nervous about how it will turn out, because it's the fear of the unknown.

The Flaws in the Education System

In the past I have seriously thought about being a teacher.  I have some siblings that work in the education system and have learned a lot though. I think there are a whole mess of issues involving the system, starting in the public school systems all the way up to college. Knowing what I have learned recently about the system,  it makes me even more disappointed that somehow our country can't put together an education that works and produces at least semi-proficient results. This also boils into the way college is thought about.

I think I would like to start out with the primary and secondary schools of this county and how they are run. Most of the time, schools and kids are not performing up to the standards that need to be performed  In my learning  funding is one of the largest issues that schools face. Many of the times as well, the schools that need the funding and the help the most do not get it. This all started with the idea of what the No Child Left Behind Act would do, except it hasn't really helped all that much. Schools that were performing bad continuing to perform bad because they do not have the adequate resources to change and develop their schools.

Another issue I see in the education system is the way teachers are hired and the reason they stay hired. This whole idea of a 10-year teacher I do not find helpful at all. There needs to be a better way of assessing the teachers and their performances rather than basing a lot of the information by how long a teacher is spent somewhere. I personally don't think 10 year should happen until 8 or 10 years after the job, because honestly after 3 years you should not be considered safe. Also, I have seen instances where age is so much more important than skill is in the workforce, which it shouldn't be. There seriously needs to be a better way to assess the teachers in the school system, especially in the primary and secondary school.

Also, there are many issues that plague our education system in the post-secondary level as well. First off, I do not think that every person out there needs to get a 4-year degree in something. I think right now people think that the only way to be successful is to go 4-years in college and those people sometimes end up getting a degree in something that doesn't bring them anywhere. Kids need to learn more about trade and technical colleges or two-year degrees, because there are many many job opportunities out there for those kinds of trades.



I won't get too deep into this part but I will mention it. The cost of higher education is ridiculous  and the fact that normal people do not have the opportunity for many financial aid is just as ridiculous  What I do not understand whatsoever is where in the world is good financial aid for middle-class Americans whose parents cannot afford to pay for the education. There needs to be some serious value changes, because the fact that we don't get much help (even if you are great in school and community involvement  should not have to be a problem. There are just way too many things wrong.

The News in my House

For almost as long as I can remember, the news was always a time in our family where everyone either had to sit down and shut up or leave the room entirely. Of course, that has grown even more since my two grandparents moved in with us a couple of years ago. They really enjoy watching the news and every day in the morning, at noon, 5, and 9 the news needs to be on.

The news, though, doesn't always do the best thing for everyone  It is always filled with negativity. Even though I enjoy learning about what is going on in the state and in the world, I get so tired of hearing about homicides  murder trials, and shootings. It's getting to the point where I actually believe that the media is part of the violence issue in our world. Think about it: these people want to make a big bang and the media is right there to make it even bigger. I wonder if that contributes to the person's odd thinking, because they know if they do something it will be spread world-wide, whereas 50 years ago that was virtually impossible.

Also, many times when were watching then news, my grandfather will be watching it with us as well. I really do love him, but many times I wouldn't say we get blamed for it but it's stressful explaining to him that we are safe and things like that have never happened around here and so on. Sometimes its all good, but there are those touchy subjects that just don't bring out the best of people. I also notice with a negative of the news that sometimes it does cause my family and I to argue a little bit. I am the weird child that doesn't agree with half of the things that my family thinks is right. So of course when those issues start it gets difficult to keep my mouth shut about things. I have learned though.

One thing that I really do appreciate is when the news blows something up that is really good and touching and isn't negative at all. That is one of the reason my family and I were so excited to see how much air time the Team Jack and touchdown run got because it is something that is so good and we need more of the positive stuff going around the country and around the world. My family spends quite a bit of time watching the news, but in the end it's just a habit I guess.

A Day with Mr. Kim

Now, I don't know what has been up of Mr. Kim Jong Un's pants lately, but to be completely honest I am really getting sick of all of his "I'm going to decimate the world!" talk. It's stupid because I hope he knows that if he tries that will be then end of it for him. I think that he needs someone from the outside to sit down and have a serious talk with him about what the heck is going on. Of course, then they need to lighten the mood for him. If I had a day with Mr. Kim, it would probably go like the following: 

The first thing I think I would do with Mr. Kim would be to sit down and have a ravishing cup of tea with the fellow. Tea has a tendency to calm most people down, so  I figure why not. Also, I may just be able to grant him some outsider knowledge about how great the rest of the world is doing compared to North Korea. Of course, I wouldn't jump in right away with dissing because they still have some interesting weapons over there. Tea time would help to ease things in and get to know him a little bit.

Of course with Mr. Kim, I think we would need to do something so random to get his tired little mind off of the war that he kind of wants to start. I think that we should go zip-lining or something super random just to get the adrenaline going in his mind. It would be a way to vamp him up for a little bit. Then, I think that he should take me shopping, hopefully if there are places for us to go shopping together  so then I can get some nice North Korean artifacts before someone decides to nuke them. I think we would have lunch and then go into the afternoon.

Since they were blocked off from some of the world, I bet he has no idea that the dance of Gangnam Style started in South Korea. I think it would be a great way to end the lovely day that we had spent together. So I would teach him this very insane and lovely dance, and then we would go up in front of the entire North Korean government and people, and dance it. Of course, South Korea would recognize this as peace and want to talk more to North Korea, creating a very lovely end to their awful war. World peace!

My Easter

Easter is always one of my favorite times of the year. Kind of like Christmas, everyone always seems so happy and excited about it all. The mood in the house is always better and we just all seem to get along for the most part. I was really excited about this entire weekend, because I knew I got to go to a place I haven't been to in probably 8 years. And that lovely place was Chuck E Cheese. We took my two nephews, and had a blast. I felt like I was once again a seven year old with all of those tokens I had.

So getting to Easter, the day started out pretty good. We got up at a decent time because church wasn't until 10 that morning. We woke up to find our Easter baskets and the lovely candy enjoyments that we all got. We had our homemade Polish sausage that morning and soon everyone started to arrive at the house. It ended up being my parents, grandparents, aunt, uncle, Mary, Kristi and her family, and Andy and his family. It was a pretty full house! So we all went to church together where my dad was singing that morning and enjoyed Easter mass.

We came back and soon had an Easter dinner consisting of steak, twice-baked potatoes, salad, bread, and fruit. For dessert, we had homemade cream puffs and the awesome bunny cake I had made the day before ( I was so proud of it). But, I have to say the highlight of the day was when we set out eggs for my 2 year old and 3 1/2 year old nephews. Even though they didn't have to go very far to find them, it was the coolest thing to see them collecting all of their eggs filled with candy, fruit snacks, and crackers. It was also priceless to see the look on their face when they would open up one of the eggs my grandpa had put money in. They were all so happy and excited. Drew, the younger of the two, was so excited that the minute he opened up an egg he would eat everything inside of it. It was priceless!

Of course, by the end of the day everyone was pretty tuckered out. My older sister, Kristi, said that she wasn't feeling that great when she left and was ready to return home. That is when the cycle of the stomach flu started and passed to basically every member of my family, including me, regardless which house they were living in. That wasn't the way I had hoped to end this weekend by being off of school for another day and living on saltine crackers and Gatorade. Epic sadface.

In 20 years....

In 20 years, I want to have a solid life. By the time I am 38 years old, I would like to have spent some time traveling the world and country to see what is out there. I really want to have been a number of different places with different environments  Hopefully, I will have hit a few major ones, such as Africa and Europe, and continue to want to travel as the years come on. I also would have done some pretty crazy things too, like gone skydiving and snorkeling by a coral reef. I hope to have a lot of experience and take things that I learned from different places and apply them to my life.

One of the biggest things I want to have by that time is a family. Even though at this point I don't know how that lucky man is going to be, I want to be married to someone that really cares for me and treats me right, much like the way my dad treats my mom. I will have three children, hopefully two boys and one girl, who even though they might be going through some extreme changes will still know that  I care for them deeply. I want to really have a happy environmental around my home, because I want to know that my children feel good and safe when they are around home. I will be a good mother and take any advice from my parents that I can.

In terms of my career,  I will have a hobby petting zoo at our home. Even though in the early years I traveled and talked about agriculture to people,  I would have settled and created a place where kids can come and learn about agriculture but also really enjoy a variety of animals that are around! People from schools will come as well as parents with their younger kids, to learn and see some different kinds of animals. I would like to have a variety  such as the usual hobby farm animals plus exotic ones such as reindeer, an ostrich, a llama of course and other ones. I really want to have a career where I can teach kids about agriculture and show them how much fun it is! We'll have special events for holidays such as Halloween and Christmas too. I want to be actively involved in the community and help out on occasion with the local FFA chapter.

The biggest thing that I will be in 20 years is happy. I want to live a solid life where I am financially stable enough to do things that I enjoy. I also want to have a nice home, that doesn't have to be super huge, but a place where I can have parties and people over. I will use inspiration from Pinterest in designing the house of course and it will be just the way I like it. I will be happy and healthy, even if there were some pretty tough times that came up in the past. I will have a strong and loving family, and continue to live life to the best of my ability.

Kristin Stewart. Ugh

There are a lot of people I could probably tolerate spending time with in a twenty-four hour period. There are also very few people that I couldn't STAND to spend that amount of time with them. Kristin Stuart is one of those few people that I would rather shoot myself in the foot rather than spend time with her. She is so annoying and socially awkward. Like really awkward. She also is just like, ugh, I don't even know! I just do not care for her whatsoever.

The first thing that comes to mind on why I hate her so much is her speech. Holy crap, send that girl back to 10t grade speech class! I wish I could physically show you how she does talk, because I think it is hilarious. She like stutters all of the time and can't take less than five minutes to get one sentence out. It's like dude, how in the heck did you make it in Hollywood when you can barely talk! And I'm not just saying the talking in the movies, this has been in interviews that I have watched on her. She just doesn't get how to talk in a normal fashion, and I would probably slap her silly.

Second off, her emotional expressions: Are. Non. Existent. In all of the Twilight films and then even in real life, all she ever seems to do is just stand there with this awkward expression on her face. It's like seriously, lets be a real person here and not be a robot. It's the worst to sit there and watch that she can't even really act and yet she is so famous just because she got into a popular film franchise. I don't think I could stand her staring at me when I told a hilarious joke and she wouldn't laugh. Honestly, I would want to punch her right in the face.

Also, I just don't know if  I could ever look up to someone like her. One thing that really bothers me is the fact that she cheated on her boyfriend, and with a married man! I think that is just awful and absolutely disgusting. And the fact that Robert and her are now fine. Honey, if you cheat on a man you should not get everything back that you had before, and vice-versa. I just don't think she has the same morals that I do and it would really bother me to spend time with someone such as that. I don't think it's cool at all that she cheated on him, and I'm reasonably sure she was on something at the Oscars too. I don't think  I could ever stand spending one hour alone with her, let alone twenty-four. 

Favorite Actor!

To decide on my favorite actor took a lot more time than my favorite actress. For me, it took some long hard thinking to decide who would be my favorite actor. There are just so many great ones! I think of Matt Damon, Chris Evans (mostly because he plays Captain America), Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and so many more! But in the end, I decided on an actor who I have really enjoyed watching, and that actor is Mr. Denzel Washington. He has been a favorite of mine for quite some time, and I really enjoy watching him act on film because he is just so great.

So, the first movie I remember watching with Washington in it was Remember the Titans. This is one of my all-time favorite movies ever! The story is one of the best, I think, and the acting all around, from a young Hayden Panitere to Will Patton to even Ryan Gosling is just amazing. I could seriously sit around and watch this movie over and over again. Denzel played a great actor in this movie, largely because I thought it was such a role that required passion, and Denzel definitely has that kind of passion to play a role like this one.

I also really enjoy watching him in a number of different movies. I really enjoyed The Great Debaters with him in it, and I thought that once again he played a role that required a lot of passion. That is probably the biggest thing I see in him when he acts. He takes on the role like no one else could, and I find myself watching in awe at his acting skills. I really enjoy watching him in movies like that, because he is great. Another more recent one was Unstoppable. Between him and Chris Pine in this movie, I thought it was unstoppable  The drama was so intense and really good. It's another one I could watch over and over again. And even though I haven't seen Flight yet, I am looking forward to his acting in that one.

I really admire the fact that throughout his career he has stayed out of trouble as well. I have read that he had a really troubled childhood, but the fact that from then on he has stayed out of that kind of trouble is really cool. I think he is a good actor that has been successful throughout his entire career and continues to be. He seems like someone who won't give up on anything and will continue to have an impact on the industry for time to come.

Favorite Actress!

Well, this one wasn't so hard to choose because there is one actress in my mind that seems to stand out. Drum roll  please! That actress would have to be Jennifer Lawrence. Now, even though I did really enjoy the  Hunger Games and such, that really isn't the reason I have come to like her. She seems like she is the most real out of all the actors and actresses out there. She isn't the best at interviews, but she does come off like a real person would if they were out there trying to be an actress in such a hard industry to work in.

First off, she honestly is a really great actress. The first time I saw her preform was in The Hunger Games. I thought she did a pretty solid job in the film, but I still like the books better, mostly because they played up the love story just a little bit more. Then, I got to go see Silver Linings Playbook in theaters, and I thought that she was absolutely outstanding. The way that she got into the role made you believe that she was actually this way. She made you laugh or want to cry on and off throughout the entire film, which was amazing. And of course, I think she deserves and Oscar for that role, because she was just so incredible at it.

But you could say that there are a lot of actors and actresses who can do that, and I think there are a lot of them that can. The thing that makes her stand out in my mind, though, is the way she acts when she is not acting. She has come right out and said that she is considered fat in Hollywood but she doesn't care. It's great to see, what I think, is someone that is really normal and doesn't fit that old Hollywood mold. She has created her own mold just for herself, and it doesn't include all of that random dieting and such. It is nice to have an actress that breaks that.

The other thing that I really do like about her is that she does take care of herself. You don't see her doing drugs or partying too much or any of that. You also don't see her gaining then losing a lot of weight like a lot of people in Hollywood do. Part of that, from what I have read, is that her family values play a part in how she acts, which is how it should be. She also has kind of an awkward presence about her, which I think is great because all you normally see is people that are so happy-go-lucky they can't even hold a smile anymore. She honestly is one of the most real people in Hollywood, and I admire that she has been able to keep it that way.

The Friend Zone Champ

One time I wish I could go back and redo...

This was hard for me to decide on, but in the end I think I've got it! So, I've liked my fair share of guys, including but not limited to, Rex Burkhead, Trevor Bayne, and many many more. So, of course, when I liked this last boy, I thought that this could maybe work. I had been told for quite some time that hey, you guys could maybe work out. And I had already felt something for him for a little while. Of course, I never had any feelings for him prior to this so it wasn't a big deal before.  But I decided that I would go for it and tell him.

Now, I just didn't jump right into this and tell him at some random moment. Oh, no. I planned it out to the T. I thought long and hard about how this would affect our friendship, because we were really good friends still when it happened. I planned it right before a four day weekend, so then if things went really bad there would be some time where we wouldn't have to see each other. I also did it at a place that I could leave right away, which was good too in case things got awkward. I was ready for this thing to go down, and I was generally sure that it wouldn't hurt our friendship in the long run.


So, it came the day. We were all headed out to the animal shelter and I was ready for it to happen. I was getting myself prepared and had talked to my friends throughout the day to make sure that things were going to be okay and they still thought I should go along with it. So, we were alone after walking a dog, and I decided this was the moment to do it. So, I basically told him that I had developed feelings for him that were more than a friend. Now, I had gone through what I thought was every possible response that he could have given me. From the super romantic "I feel the same about you!" to the "Oh, I would never EVER like you in that way, gross!" responses. But he didn't tell me either of those. He threw me for a loop because he turned to me and said, "You're lying!" Aca-scuse me? I was NOT expecting that one. So of course like the timid self I am in these situations, I told him I wasn't in a shy voice and drove my car off.

But, if I were to go back into this situation and re-do, I would have not run away. I would have given him a big bite on his you-know-what and given him one. I wouldn't have cared what happened after words, but I would have stayed and talked to him and about how that is not the way to respond to someone when they are doing the hardest thing possible for them to do. It's not like I said it in a joking way, he should know me well enough to know how I act when I am serious and nervous. I would have made sure my point was made and not backed down for once in my life.

All in all though, I don't regret doing what I did. I still don't think he for sure saw my feelings until awhile later, and when we talked about it the day after and things were awkward for quite some time there after. But we're still friends, we still hang out and it isn't awkward, but I don't think he fully grasped the fact that I was being serious. In fact, when I asked him another serious question, not about love this time, he still responded with the "you're lying" thing. It is not a response you should give someone, especially when it is as serious as it was. But hey, every girl has to get her heart hurt at some point in her life.

No More Valentine's Day!

Even though America is only a few hundred years old, it has become a country full of its own tradtions. Some of those traditions are loved, but others should go die in a hole. In my own opinion, that one that should go die first off is (drumroll, please) Valentine's Day! It just so happens that this dreaded day Is coming up in just a few days. Double ugh! I hate this day for a number of reasons, which is odd considering I am a hopeless romantic.

First off, Valentine's Day is suppose to be based off of some saint. Well, in the lovely U S of A, it has basically become a holiday where couples or singles buy gifts for their significant other and are suppose to have some beautiful romantic dinner or something to celebrate. But honestly, what are we celebrating? Unless it happens to be your anniversary or something special, it is the exact same as every other day. Now I know some people are thinking that it's just like every other holiday, but most of the others have very good reasoning behind it, at least that is my personal opinion.

Secondly, Valentine's Day makes sure that people are put into two distinct groups. One of them is the "in a relationship or have a lover" group, those of whom tend to be happy. Of course they're going to be though! It's an excuse for a guy to buy a girl flowers or chocolates (or vise-versa). These people enjoy the day because they are reminded someone cares about them deeply. But then there is the other kind of group, the one I have found myself in. That would be the Forever Aloners. Now, that may seem kind of harsh, but we all know that if you are alone on Valentine's Day, you are reminded of it every single second of the day. And trust me, by 3 o'clock in the afternoon, it starts to get old. Thankfully, I have been lucky enough to have friends that are right there with me, but some people are not so lucky. These are the kind of people that use this day as an excuse to eat more chocolate than necessary and watch romantic movies alone. Yes, I have been known to be one of these people so I am allowed to hate.

Also, Valentine's Day sometimes turns into a nasty competition. Say Suzzy has a boyfriend Jonny, and he gets her a box of chocolate for this day. Now Suzzy's best friend Tala also happens to be dating someone, and he gets her a lovely diamond necklace. Suzzy gets jealous and who knows where her relationship goes from there. People get really jealous on Valentine's Day, and many of the people end up being crabby by the end of the day for no reason. I  say get rid of the day, celebrate your love on your own day, and for those single ladies out there, you don't have to feel bad!

The Lies of Agriculture

I'll admit, I have not always been pro-agriculture. Back when I lived in New Hampshire  I was convinced that farmers were destroying our ecosystems and our environment. I have been one of the lucky people that have " seen the light" so to say. Unfortunately  that is what people seem to think when they don't know about agriculture  They focus instead on what the media seems to tell them, which of course usually focuses about the bad things that are happening at exception farms. Once they see that Jonny is mentally ill and locked up all of his dairy cows to die one day, they automatically conclude that this is how ALL farms are. This couldn't be further from the truth.

First off, I cannot stand PETA. Of course, I completely agree with the idea of animal welfare, which is that we treat animals humanely and make sure during the process of production that they are comfortable and have plenty of food, water, room, and the proper medication. However, I do most certainly not agree with animal rights, the idea that animals should be treated as humans, period. If we were not using these livestock animals for production or research, they would not exist. So instead of using animals to find a cure for AIDS, they are more concerned with the idea that these livestock animals, which in fact during the research process  are treated well, should not be used for research that could save thousands of human lives. HELLO! There is something seriously wrong here, considering we could be finding cures or medicine to help treat not only AIDS, but cancer and other live threatening diseases. Plus, PETA also likes to take any little bad thing that is done in agriculture and blow it up to make it seem like this happens everywhere. I do, however, believe that the PETA that means People Eating Tasty Animals is very correct.

Second, these types of organizations spread the kind of bad news that gets to everywhere. These are the types of organizations that will find a single bad incident and spread the news like wildfire. They are really just trying to make people believe exactly what they think no matter the cost it has. This leads to people to believe the common misconception that farmers are simply raising the animals to make a profit. That also could not be further from the truth. Yes farmers are trying to make money, but only like every other American that has a job. The majority of farmers do care about their animals and what they are doing for the world, but they also need to make money to support their family like every other person out there.

Of course, there are those kind of myths that people who do not know anything about agriculture are going to believe, and the corporation world takes advantage of that. Like the idea that brown eggs, if produced in the same way as white eggs, are healthier. The only difference is the price unless they are produced different. Or the idea that chocolate milk comes from brown cows, and there are many more. This is why I want to go into agriculture, because people only hear the bad side of the story a lot of the time, and I want to give them the other side.

All About Me!

Where to start. Well, I have a large family that sometimes gets a little crazy. Along with my parents and younger sister Mary, my grandparents also live with us. I also have two older siblings, both of which are married to some fantastic in-laws . Our way too intense card games and movie nights highlight us all spending time together. I also have the most adorable nephews EVER. Joey, who is three, and Drew, who is eighteen months, and is also my Godchild.  They are so much fun to be around, and I am lucky to be an aunt! I enjoy their ever changing obsessions with dinosaurs, Cars, and Finding Nemo.

Speaking of obsessions, you could say that I am on the road to one. I love, and I mean LOVE, football. And more specifically, Nebraska Football. Since I was a ten day old who was passed around the living room so Nebraska could win their 1994 football championship, I have had a serious attachment to the sport. And with the attachment to the sport itself comes to the attachments with certain players. Now, I've had my fair amount of crushes (okay, a lot of them) and some of those have come because of my love for football. The most prominent one is probably Rex Burkhead, who sadly has graduated this past winter. Teardrop. I curse those people who decided to not Redshirt him his freshman year.

Some other random facts of myself include that my favorite color is red, I love pasta Alfredo (who doesn't!?) and that I remember most of my dreams (which is kind of weird). I love movies, and romantic movies of any type top my list. I could watch The Notebook over and over again and still cry. Comedies, action, dramas, and animated are also fantastic, and some of my favorites include The Avengers, Dark Knight, Remember the Titans, and Forest Gump. I also have a strange love for Band of Brothers. I could watch all of them over and over again! I also love reading my fantastic Nicholas Sparks and Kristin Hannah novels, which usually end in those beautiful endings that don't usually happen in real life. But that's okay, a girl can dream, can't she?

I have a deep passion for something that most people wouldn't really expect, which is agriculture. Coming from the east coast, I didn't really have a clue about much of anything related to agriculture  But for whatever reason it has clicked inside my brain and I can't wait to further my career in it. I have gotten to do the sweetest things because of FFA, like take a trip to Washington D.C. for a leadership conference. I also got to go to the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute, where they had world leaders in food security (like Dr. Hillel, who is in the picture).  I want to travel to Africa and other countries and continents to see how agriculture works there, and I want to get the word out that it is so much more than just hick farmers doing their thing. We FEED THE WORLD here! I can't wait to begin my career, even though I don't really know what the exact career might be, but I do know I want to make a positive difference in the lives of many. And, best of all, I get to learn more and start my Ag Ed degree at my beloved school, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

There is one thing I haven't mentioned yet, and that is my amazing friends! I love them all to death and they are such an important part of my life. Even though I can be loud and sing maybe too much, we all remain friends through thick and thin. I swear we do the craziest things and have the strangest memories, from water balloon fights to having deep heart-to-hearts in our basements. I love all of our inside jokes and strange pictures that we take, and I seem to be happiest when I'm around them. It's going to really stink having to be away from them, but I know that if it's fate, we'll remain friends for quite some time!