Timothy Brown
J. Hutchman
Lang 120
September 17, 2012
The Trees Were My Only Defense
Imagine running through the forest
dodging behind every tree within a short running distance as you are under
attack by evil forest creatures. The trees and underbrush become your only
allies but luckily you have a huge array of places to hide as well many tools
for protection against any creature that may get too close for comfort. This
simple adventurous game I used to play as a very young child may not have
lasted for long, but it did serve a major role in producing the passion I now
have towards agriculture. We have all experienced some crazy or silly childhood
game similar to this, but surprisingly enough this game did more than fuel my
imagination while wasting time; it made me step back and observe those trees
and underbrush I was using for protection to gain an insight on how simply
astonishing they truly were.
Agriculture has always served a major role
in my life and has even instilled ideas into my mind that have put me where I
am today. If it weren’t for my agricultural experiences as a child, there is no
telling what my life would now consist of.
Through my experiences, I have learned a wide range of agriculturally
related skills that I’m able and to use on a daily basis. In addition, I have
used these skills to make a major decision in my life, specifically my career
choice. Although I’m merely a freshman in college, still classified into my
sisters phrase, “you still have time to figure our your life goals”, I believe
that my decision to work in a field of agriculture is definite. Considering the
fact that I have a true passion for agriculture and the verity that almost all
areas of human life involve agriculture, I don’t see how a career in agriculture
would be a bad decision.
I did not grow up on what is
considered a farm; the land was once part of a large farm. By the time I came
along the farming had been long gone. However, even without the true farming
experience, I was able to connect to agriculture very closely just by examining
those trees in my adventurous game. I would first walk all around the base of a
tree just to get a feel of its size, and then I would slowly raise my head and
gaze into its branches. It always amazed me to look at its structure; I mean,
how does a tree even get the idea to grow that way? Its not like it has a
brain! By now you may think I’ve gone crazy for being so fascinated with trees,
but just wait until you’ve seen my nerd side! It was not until middle school
that the science side of things began influencing my perspective. Within all
the lessons on forest production, cell anatomy, and photosynthesis, I was
beginning to make some connections in order to become a “nerd” of agriculture.
I decided to branch out into other areas of agriculture rather than only
focusing on trees. In doing so I became interested in rivers and animals. It
all became overwhelming as everything I had once viewed as a simple ant or
stream was now this part of the bigger picture of life. For example, when I was
young trees were just this thing that grew from the ground, looked pretty and
every now and then a few would have tasty fruit. Several years down road, I
would learn that trees are in fact living and breathing creatures, even
compared to humans by many scholars. In scholars eyes they have cells that are
almost identical, use similar transport systems, and even have the same
reproductive concepts. That just goes to prove that everything in this world
was produced for a very specific reason and intended to work together in order
to create this captivating place we call Earth. These locks and keys in nature
are now part of agricultural life and are the amazing facts that have drawn my interest
towards agriculture.
To me, life has always been about
learning. I have always strived to learn something really neat or important
each week. In the same way, I feel that teaching goes hand in hand with
learning. Who are we as people in society if we don’t step out and try to learn
new things every day? We live in a nation that is constantly evolving,
constantly embracing new technology and new ideas; therefore we must continue
to expand our knowledge to remain adapted to society. If we as people would
then begin to understand part of what living in a nation is all about. Nationalism
is simply people working to support those in their nation as well as helping to
advance the nation as a whole. Often time’s people just sit back and let others
embrace nationalism but I feel that everyone must do their part even if it’s
something small because even small things matter greatly. For this reason, my
enthusiasm for agriculture is what I see as my part towards nationalism; I am
more than willing to teach, and convey my thoughts for others.
One major way I’ve been able to express
my agricultural passion in the past was through an agricultural program at my
high school. The program is called Future Farmer of America or FFA for short.
You may not believe it, but statics say that this program is the largest youth
organization in America. Although its name says “future farmers”, you do not have
to intend to be a farmer to be interested in this program; in fact hardly any
of the members actually become farmers, hence the reason the name was later changed
to The National FFA Organization. The goal of FFA was to be simply known as an
organization that promotes agriculture advocacy and education. As a two-term
officer in this program while in high school, it was my duty to help convey
this message of agriculture advocacy to other members as well as the community.
One of my favorite parts of being an officer was getting the chance to go to
the local middle and elementary schools to discuss the importance of
agriculture with younger people. I loved walking into a classroom filled with
small children. The children’s attention would quickly turn towards me as their
teacher introduced me. As I began a simple presentation trying to include my
enthusiasm, theirs would surpass mine. Although it was often disheartening to
discover that some ten year olds didn’t realize that eggs came from chickens
and milk from cows, I was glad to become a pawn for their agricultural
learning.
The food we eat, clothes we wear,
paper we write on, and cars we drive all relate back to agriculture. You can
actually look at anything in a superstore and trace some part of it to an
agriculture operation. Since agriculture is so evident in our world, I hope to
have an opportunity to work with, and give back to my passion of agriculture. I
even have the chance to tie in my new large interest of chemistry into an
agricultural career. By taking some chemistry classes in high school, I have
grown to love the biochemical career field. This could relate towards biofuels,
or biomedical areas but I want to go towards an agricultural aspect. Through a
biochemical degree, it is my hope that I can get involved in research that not
only expands on my knowledge, but also the knowledge of others. Lastly through
this career path, I hope that I will get the opportunity to learn something
that can be applied back to influence agriculture industries positively whether
it is by understanding a better growing environment for plants, or a way to
assist the demand against farming operations.
Agriculture is a huge characteristic
of our lives, without it we would most definitely be in a heap of trouble
without it. I may be overly passionate about agriculture, but I feel that we
all have that one area of our lives that we are driven by. I’m glad that my
career interests closely coincide with my passion for agriculture, as I would
find it extremely difficult to resist the urging of my agricultural passion
while following a dissimilar interest. My background in agriculture has
supplied far too much enjoyment and direction in my life to turn away now. As a
college student, I want to fully embrace my career goals while remembering
where I have come from and influences that have shaped my life. Agriculture has
indubitably sown me; I’ll just have to wait and see what type of fruit I
produce.
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