Whew. Well over a week of not writing. I assure you the past couple of weeks have been filled to the brim, and writing this next blog has taken me so long only because I have TOO many things to write about. Yes, too many things. It’s been a whirlwind... but should I really expect anything else? I will dedicate a post a day to events that occurred throughout the week.

Let’s start off at the beginning: State FFA Convention.

Most reading this blog are very much aware of my involvement in FFA, and how much happiness that involvement brings me. Most of you are even very familiar with FFA, but if you aren’t, let me paint a picture of state convention for you. nearly 3,000 FFA members from all across the state come together to celebrate a year’s worth of successes. Thousands of blue corduroy jackets overwhelm the streets of downtown Raleigh. State convention is a time to compete, listen to inspirational speakers, mingle with state officers, and enjoy the company of friends you’ve met throughout your years as an FFA member. This year, I was responsible for three things: facilitating workshops, helping with the Alumni Annual Meeting, and hanging out with FFA members. Yes, the third one counts just as much. I wish I could fully articulate how much joy it gives me to be around FFA members. They are such beautiful people with so much to offer the world. I can always count on a hearty laugh, intelligent conversation, or warm hug when I encounter an FFA member. They’ve given me so much more than I could ever give back to them, and I want them to know it. I am proud of my jacket, and I’m extremely proud of the thousands wearing it.

My favorite session of state convention is the very last. Not only do members get recognized for achievements in Career Development Events (or contests) on stage, the six state officers retire and six other people’s lives change forever. I sat in the crowd of thousands to experience that last session, something I haven’t done in a while. It made my heart swell to see the excitement of an FFA member who won their very first CDE, or a team embrace on stage when they realize they finally did it. I couldn’t help but smile when a first year FFA member presented the FFA creed, five paragraphs that embody what we as an organization believe in. Countless hours of hard work and dedication paid off, and you could see it on their faces. You could see it on mine as well.

One of the final business items is the election of new state officers. State officer candidates go through a rigorous interview process the weekend before state convention that tests their knowledge of agriculture, education, agricultural education, and FFA. They take a written test, participate in a writing exercise, have a six minute one-on-one interview with each of the 12 nominating committee members, and facilitate an eight minute portion of a workshop (which they plan in twenty minutes prior to presenting). Candidates also given 30 minutes to prepare a 5 minute speech based on a topic they are provided. They then immediately give the speech to the committee, and answer three minutes worth of questions about the speech. The potential state officers participate in a round robin, an interview simulating a conversation with a leader in the agricultural industry. Finally, on the last day of interviews, the candidates go through the personal round consisting of 4 questions that heavily reflect their commitment to FFA, passion for success, and character. I am explaining the process to you for many reasons. One, to demonstrate the hard work required to prepare for the process. Two, to demonstrate to you the relevancy of FFA, and yet another example of how they are preparing students for life. Thirdly, I explain this to you because it is modeled after the national process that I will go through in October, in case anyone was wondering what it’s going to take for me to become a national officer (much bigger scale and more to be learned... but same process.) Needless to say, by the end of the last session, the 17 candidates running for the six positions feel beyond nervous. The last session is a blur to them... They finally zone in when the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song starts playing and they begin calling out the names. As this was happening, I saw six candidates lives change before my eyes. I saw tears of joy as they ran onto the stage and embraced their new teammates. Watching the stage, you feel the new officers' happiness as it oozes onto the audience. However, many people never look just to the left of the stage. They never look to the candidates who embrace each other with tears streaming down their face not because they they were chosen, but because they were not. Each worked hard and wanted state officer more than anything... but there can only be six.

If I’ve learned anything in my life, it’s that everything happens for a reason. I may not know why something is happening, and I may think that it should happen differently, but in the end, I end up right where I’m supposed to be. Hindsight is 20/20, and I can’t count the number of times things worked out for the better by working out differently than I had planned. We may not see it right away, but we will eventually. We are each blessed with 24 hours, and regardless of what happens in those 24 hours, WE control our happiness. It is NOT circumstance that dictates our happiness, but ourselves. We accomplish happiness even in the roughest of circumstances by having a relentlessly positive outlook, and taking what life throws at us and dealing with it... really dealing with it. We control our happiness by viewing missed opportunities as other opportunities in disguise. We will never always get what we want, and don’t even pretend that there are others that do. We all have our own battles to fight. Make the decision to be happy for others instead of angry at yourself. The question of whether or not you were “good enough” is irrelevant. Everything happens for a reason. Have faith in that.

If I don’t get national office in October, I will be undeniably disappointed and upset. But, the FFA isn’t who I am. If I were to judge my worth on one event, I would be cheating myself. I will be upset because it is something I am deeply passionate about and have worked hard for, but not for one second will I believe that I wasn’t good enough for something. Everything happens for a reason. If it’s not this opportunity, it will be another. I will live out my values and pursue my passions every day I live, and that will never change... blue jacket or not.

We can all live successful lives as good people... regardless of circumstance. We can’t control the cards we’re dealt, but we can control how we play them.