The Downhill Slope

   The other day it hit me… Right smack dab in the face—my time serving Kansas FFA members is over halfway done.  I’m on the downhill slope, if you will.  My time in the blue jacket is almost over. 

This thought, in all honesty, scares me a little.  Tons of thoughts rush through my head… Have I made a good use of my time?  Did I make a difference?  How many lives have I touched?  These thoughts make me more determined than ever to make the most of my remaining time in the Kansas FFA blue corduroy.  I am ready to face my ‘downhill slope’ with an uphill attitude.  It’s time to appreciate all of the little things, soak it all in, work even harder.

Many of you may also find yourselves on the downhill slope.

   With the end of the school year coming, it’s pretty easy to find ourselves in a rut.  All we want is to not have to go to class, be done studying, and for summer to arrive.  It’s easy to do the bare minimum, scrape by.  I mean, we’ve been working hard since August.  My challenge: work even harder until May—in FFA and in school.  Finish your homework before you arrive in the class that it’s due, do that extra credit assignment that the teacher offered in the class you have a borderline grade in, practice your reasons sets, finish up this year’s record book.  Face this semester with an uphill attitude. 

   This time last year, I was struggling with a bad case of senioritis.  I was ready to be done with high school and off to college, ready for the real world.  For my seniors out there feeling the same way, my challenge: slow down, enjoy every moment.  Although it sounds cliché, you only get to do it once.  Face your final semester in high school with an uphill attitude, even though you really are on the downhill slope.  Work harder in class than you ever have before, try even harder in the CDE’s you have left, and take in every experience that you can while you’re still wearing the blue jacket. 

   When you find yourself chomping at the bit to get out of the small-town that you’ve called home for the last 18 or so years, my challenge: slow down, enjoy every moment.  When your mom’s nagging you to pick up your room, put away your laundry, or just sit down to talk with her—enjoy the moment.  When your dad says it’s your turn to do the chores or unload hay or build fence or just ‘get up and do something, by golly’—enjoy every moment.  When you’re fighting with your siblings over whose turn it is to wash the dishes, help your parents, or honestly just fighting in general—enjoy every moment.

   As weird as it is, I miss my mom nagging at me to put away my clothes.  Truth be told, I miss her just doing my laundry in general.  I miss hanging out with my dad and trying to soak in just a little of his wisdom from the life talks that we regularly have.  I miss fighting with my sister, Sara, about who stole whose shirt and whose turn it is to buy lunch.  And, even though he lives out on his own now, I miss my brother Rusty to death.  Although I love K-State and all of my friends here, nothing is quite like home.

   If we look at life like we’re on the downhill slope, it will all pass us by.  I am just as guilty as anyone of getting caught up in the moment—getting caught up in just getting done.  But life passes by way too fast.  We should wake up everyday and ask ourselves how we can make a difference.  We should wake up everyday and challenge ourselves to savor every moment.

Kansas FFA, have an uphill attitude!