~ Grab Opportunity by the Hair ~
Each day we are faced with hundreds of decisions. What to eat for breakfast, which shirt to
wear, what to put for number 6 on the math quiz, and more. Some of these decisions are small and some
are much bigger. For instance, one
decision that all FFA members are faced with whether or not to get involved in this
organization. Since we made that
decision, we’ve been faced with so many more: which Career Development Event to
involve ourselves in, if any. Whether or not to run for office, or what our
Supervised Agricultural Experience should be. It is in the moments when we are
faced with decisions that we are faced with opportunities.
Over
400 FFA members and officers descended on Mountain Lake in Minnesota for the
Region VI Greenhand/ Chapter Officer Workshop Day on September 26, 2012. Over 350 of these members were Greenhands and
this was their first event outside of their chapters. The other members were Chapter Officers, who
were there for the Chapter Officer Workshop also known as COW. The Region Officer team was really focusing
on encouraging these members to “seize the day” and to take advantage of the
opportunities they would be exposed to throughout the day.
When
I heard what they were focusing on for the day, I was reminded of the Opportunity
Statue from Ancient Greece. The statue
shows the figure of a man who has long flowing hair on his face and the front
of his head, but the back of his head is completely bald. The idea was that while Opportunity is walking
towards you, you can reach out and grab a hold of it. However, once it has
passed you by, there isn’t anything left for you to grab. As I shared this story with the members there
that day, I dared them to continually remember to “grab Opportunity by the
hair”.
Throughout
the day it was obvious that they were taking this dare seriously. In the COW, the Chapter Officers stepped up
and worked hard to develop skills that they will use throughout their year of
service. They thought about and discussed
ways to accomplish their goals for their chapter, strategies they could use to
keep each other accountable, and participated in activities which strengthened
their teamwork skills.
While
Shawna and I were working with the Chapter Officers, the Region VI Officers
were facilitating workshops for the Greenhands. These officers covered topics such as Basic
FFA Knowledge, Casual Official Dress and Official Dress, Career Development
Events, and Leadership Opportunities.
The Greenhands reached out and grabbed Opportunity by the hair through
the excitement they displayed when offered a chance to experience some of the
CDEs. They also learned many new things and gained helpful skills for their
future.
Later
when Shawna gave her reflections of the day, I could tell that many of the FFA
members had taken a hold of the biggest opportunity available to FFA members,
the opportunity to be a part of the accepting atmosphere of FFA. This was evident by the way they genuinely
laughed during the funny parts of Shawna’s stories. Instead of the tension I
had felt at the beginning of the day, these students had grown comfortable
enough to express their inner emotions. These members had figured out that FFA
was a place where they could really open themselves up and be themselves.
The
over 400 FFA members at the Region IV Greenhand/Chapter Officer Workshop Day
dared to grab Opportunity by the hair, will you?
Stationed by the Plow,
Marjorie Schleper
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