Everyone has a story. Some long. Some short. Some dramatic. Some with no emotions. Some interesting and some are just straight up boring. But everyone has a story and a story worth sharing. Some people have chapter books.
And I my friend have a textbook, experiences in my life that make me who I am today. I have my Running story, my eating disorder story, my music story, my school story. But one of my favorites out of all of those stories is my AG story.
It all started a long long long time ago...
(The back story)
My mother grew up on a tiny dot in the middle of absolutely nowhereville. To be more specific on a tiny farm in Illinois. My father grew up on the outskirts of my home town in Oregon. My parents meet fell in love and moved to Oregon and started a family. That's where I come in the picture. Starting at about age 1 I was either in a tractor, semi, or driving around somewhere doing something. My childhood was formed on a seat of an old ford semi. My father and mother started a trucking company together and so ag has always been apart of me. From haling nursery stock in the spring, from dirt in the winter, all the way to straw in the summer. My father AND MOTHER have been in agriculture. So I was born with dirt in my veins. I have always been that kid to go chase something wild. And the kid that hated stereotypes. I grew up loving "boy things", semis, tractors, the color blue, dirt piles, 4 wheelers, pickups. I mean the Barbie's that my parents bought for me had their heads ripped off. Look at what we are dealing with.
(the story)
You could say that my passion for agriculture started at my birth, but my bigger passion erupted when I was 13. My passion for Women in Agriculture was birthed the first time I was told I couldn't do something. Before I had this experience I never really thought about women in ag. I was working a summer job for my uncle, a tractor job. My job that year was to run and operate a straw rake. In my shallow 13 year old mind this was no big deal. Just another thing I wanted to get accomplished. I wasn't aware there was a story to tell until I lived it. I experienced the feeling of helping and changing the world, one crop at a time. With weight, the men didn’t feel. Women in agriculture hold a different level of responsibility. I wasn’t aware there was a difference between a female farmer and a male farmer until my boss was asked who the girl with the ponytails was. I wasn’t aware until I was told that I should ask for help because I was a girl. I wasn’t aware of other people’s stories until I started sharing mine. My small summer job of baling hay, working with 20 boys and staying up past midnight just to finish a field. This experience of love, joy, and tears has helped shape me into who I am. Because of my farm experiences I can tell the world about women in agriculture. I can advocate for them.
(the inside scope)
For several days and months after I would have a negative interaction in agriculture, whether it was because I was a female, or because of other reasons. It would leave a bitter taste in my mouth. I would feel heartbroken and felt shattered. For a while I was massively discouraged. Somedays I threatened to quite what I was doing. Then one day I had a realization, something that forever changed my view on my life. The reason why you are going through this pain, may not be for yourself. It may not make sense right now. But someday your child or your grandchild, will thank you for what you have done. You might be going through this pain for generations to come. Breaking boundaries for generations to come. This pain could make someone else future easier.
What is your story? What is your life experiences? Whos future life's are you changing. I am begging you. Do something that you are scared of doing, tell a story that you are scared to tell. Jesus did things that where majorly out of society standards. You may feel like you don't have any stories to tell, and that's ok. But I challenge you to sit down and write out how experiences in your life have shaped who you are. People you have meet along the way inspiring you, and discouraging you. Tell your story in a positive way.
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