Some days, I want to be 12 again (column)

This week, both newspapers and 4-H are celebrating their special weeks. I have strong ties to both groups.
The newspaper tie is pretty obvious, but the 4-H one people probably wouldn’t know about unless they probed a little deeper into my background. You probably didn’t know this, but this column is being written by a bonafide 4-H queen. I have the tiara to prove it.

I was a 4-H member for more than a decade, starting as an Explorer when I was eight. Now, they start them in 4-H even younger as Cloverbuds (isn’t that the cutest name?). They finally kicked me out as a member part way through college, but I stuck around as a volunteer a few years longer.

Just for you non-4-H savvy people, in the organization, you get to take projects. They cover almost anything you can think of and can’t think of: animals, sewing and crafts, child development, scale models, plants and flowers, crops and gardening, photography, art, nature, shooting sports and many, many more. Even if you could think of something not covered, there’s a self-determined project. One little guy I met had a dentistry project, of all things.

During my time in 4-H, I must have taken almost every project. The week before Labor Day, I could be found slaving away on last minute entries for the Iowa County Fair. Thursday morning, we would load everything up. First all the postors, pictures, flowers, clothes and other fair house exhibits went in the car. All the live ones (cows, steers, chickens, lambs, etc.) came in the trailer that afternoon.

However, 4-H isn’t just about the fair. We also did community service, leadership training and travel.
I met a lots of people as a teen through 4-H. Since my high school was in a different county, almost all of my 4-H friends were seperate from my school friends.

My family hasn’t had a true family vacation since I was in seventh grade, but because of 4-H, I was able to travel. My first trip was to the east coast between the summer of my freshman and sophomore years. I fell in love with New England along with a busload of 42 other teenagers from southern Wisconsin. To this day, there’s still people from the trip I keep in ouch with.
The same goes for my trip to Washington D.C. two years later. This time, the bus passengers were from all over Wisconsin. Getting to know a few kids from Phillips helped me get an internship there in college.

The last trip was during college to the National 4-H Congress in Atlanta. This one was different because we flew there, and it was less touring and more leadership and motivational speakers. The two things I remember most about that trip was helping city kids make art projects for community service and listening to Miss America speak.

It’s hard to put it all into words, but 4-H has had a lasting impact. Everyday, I can find something to thank 4-H for: public speaking skills at my brother’s wedding, photography skills on the job, and Nate likes the baking skills I learned.
One great thing about 4-H is it includes the whole family and is often passed on to the next generation. Both my parents were 4-H members and leaders, and Jacob doesn’t know it yet but he has four-leaf clovers in his future.