Taking Opportunities

Hey District V!

Long time no chat! I’ve missed you!

This week I wanted to talk to you about opportunities! Everyone knows the classic saying “Take every opportunity you can,” but as I write this sitting in the DC airport I can promise you it’s the truth!

A little bit about me that you guys might not know is that I didn’t “grow up” in AG. I was raised primarily by my mom and my dad’s parents in West Lafayette, Indiana. We got along and I always did well in school, but I can remember on more accounts than one sitting in the car while my grandparents ran into the food pantry or having to scourer the house for dimes to buy milk and a loaf of bread. The extent of my agriculture knowledge was that milk came from cows and chickens laid eggs. I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what piece of meat came from what animal, the difference between beef and dairy cattle, or what crop was in a field.

As I have spent the last few days talking with members of Congress about pressing issues in the beef cattle industry, I took time to reflect on this.

Here’s where the opportunity portion comes in. Getting here included a lot of opportunities I had to take regardless of whether I felt I was qualified or not. Once moving to Clinton County in 2019, I was allowed to show livestock and join FFA. These were both VERY outside my comfort zone. With the support of my mom and my best friend, I began both. FFA presented me with a world of opportunity. I took each of them, helping with every event and participating in every contest in my 8th grade year. It wasn’t till the end of the year rolled around, however, that things fell into place. I was asked to help with our livestock show, the Red and Black Classic by my advisor. Through that event, I fell in love with that side of the show industry. I immediately started searching for ways to be on this side of the ring more often. Then the application for the Indiana Junior Beef Cattle Association Junior Board came across my Facebook. I knew I wasn’t the most qualified or knowledgeable, and that I hadn’t ever even stepped foot into a grand drive, but decided I had nothing to lose. I was so scared leading up to interviews, but the day came and things didn’t go too bad. I still wasn’t hopeful, but to my surprise, I made it on! Little did I know it would be one of the best opportunities I would ever take. I would meet hundreds of people, learn things I wouldn’t have learned anywhere else, and be able to travel representing Indiana Cattlemen on the national level.

These past few days wouldn’t have been possible without those opportunities along the way. Without my best friend having asked me to go to an FFA meeting or if my fears and doubts had gotten the best of me before that interview, I wouldn’t have had these opportunities.

That being said…next time you get asked to go somewhere, think of applying for something, or have the opportunity to try something outside your comfort zone, please do it! I’m here to tell you it’ll be easy or that it will always be fun, but I promise if you work hard enough amazing things will happen!

With so much love,

Sidney Julian-Stinson

Instagram: s.stinson_