It's crazy how fast this Summer has gone. I know the first week I came here, I was a nervous wreck. I knew I wanted to do the best job possible but I didn't yet know how I was going to do that. The first few weeks went slow , just trying to find my place in the Garrard County office. I may have even used the word "boring". I can laugh at that now! This summer has been anything but boring. I've done things I never thought I would be able to and used my own skills in ways I didn't know I could. Extension is very rewarding. This is my last week and I will go back to school in two. Though, I'm ready to catch up on laundry and get my head in a student state-of-mind, I'm not sure how I feel about not coming here every morning. It's very bittersweet but I've learned so much that I can take with me from each and every person in this office.
The question was asked at the Round up : " What did you do this Summer that you never thought you would?" . I thought about that a little more on the ride home and the truth is, I never thought I'd be interested in working in Extension. I'm a Junior at Eastern Kentucky University majoring in Agribusiness Management. I saw myself working in the financial world , with an office and possibly a suit. Then I got the opportunity to apply for the Internship and I had flashbacks of my 4-H days. I absolutely loved 4-H as a kid but I had truly forgotten what it had meant to me to be able to enter things in the fair, or take a lamb to the show, or learn to sew with my friends and pretend we were fashion designers. My mind began to change. After working in the retail world for 5 years and changing my major a couple hundred times, this one sort of snuck up on me and I really wanted to know if this is something I could take on. So when I found out I was able to intern at Garrard County , I was ecstatic! I did learn a lot about my community and the things that are going on in the County very quickly but mostly I learned my own strengths and weaknesses.
I sound like an old Granny when I say, your twenties are a rough age. But Its a complicated time! I'm finishing up school and trying to decide what in the world I can do with my degree. I want a job I can enjoy but also maintain my small family. It's a scary time too, the world of possibilities is endless but yet there's an end. So to be honest, I don't think we ever know what we're doing. So, the best part about this internship is that I'm no longer struggling to find out what I want to do with my life. I want to be a 4-H agent. Plain and Simple. Things may take a different turn come graduation day and life is so unexpected but given the chance to spend time with these kids and see how excited they are to learn new things I feel at home with making 4-H Agentdom a goal for my life. I know its long hours, steamy camp days, and sometimes difficult parents but its very rewarding to be able to teach a kid a "forgotten art" like cooking or growing vegetables. I think our world would be a much better place if we were all a little more self sufficient and 4-H programs teach kids lifeskills to be just that. 4-H also inspires kids to develop hobbies and talents and I know I want to be the one to help them do that.
This has been an amazing experience and I truly appreciate the opportunity. It's going to be strange waking up Monday morning with nothing to do but I've got a lot of good stories, new skills learned and new relationships with some fine people from my hometown. I also have a list of things I'm going to need for Christmas now, if you guys can get word to my husband: a canner, a sewing machine, a way better camera, a barn quilt, some paint, a kayak, a lamb and an application for the Summer 2016 Extension Internship :)
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