Ride of a Life Time

May was a crazy month for me, from start to finish! The first week of May was Capital Days which just happened to be the same week as my finals at college, so there was a lot of pressure. Then after school was out I had a one day break because it was time to start working on my 240 hours for my internship and my minimester of summer school would begin. The class I took over the minimester was speech. The class was four days a week, for three weeks, and was 4 hours a night. The speech class was surprisingly a lot of fun. Fourteen complete strangers and I went to this class every night. As I went to class I learned something new about these people (probably more then we ever wanted to know), by playing icebreakers. We also did a group assignment, which again was a lot of fun. By the end of the class, I was actually very sad, because those strangers I met the first day are now my friends for life. The very last class the teacher set us in a circle and she gave us all a possible bag. It was a bag filled with quotes, ways to succeed in life, and the famous poem written by Robert Frost called The Road Not Taken. There are two quotes I received that I would like to share with everyone.


"Remember that there is no thrill in easy sailing when the skies are clear and blue; there is no joy in merely doing things which anyone can do. But there is some satisfaction that is mighty sweet to take when you reach a destination that you thought you would never make."


The second quote is...


"Each of us has twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. Time is available as an equal opportunity for everyone. Each of us just perceives time in a different way."


I know what these quotes mean to me but as you all are sitting here reading this think about what they mean to you.


Now that speech class is over which was a bittersweet experience for me I will take all those life skills I learned and will carry the memories I shared with those people forever. Speech class and work pretty much wiped out the whole month of May, but I did plan one more thing on the last Day. I actually got to go to the Montgomery school district, and give about an hour presentation to three Fourth grade classes. I talked to them about 4-H and and all the projects offered through the program. It was so great to see all the excited kids and how interested they seemed. I enjoyed my time with them and they all seemed to enjoy it too. Now that May is over I hope June will be just as fun and exciting as May was.


State Council Secretary


~Samantha Gstalder~

Busy Times Ahead!

Well summer is finally here after all of the crazy rain we have had lately. This means that this school year is coming to an end, which is kind of bittersweet because I had a really great year. I had classes with all my friends and didn't have any teachers that I didn't really like. But also with school out I can just call up a friend and hang out and not worry about any test or papers. May, as a 4-Her, has been pretty uneventful. But the next upcoming months are going to be packed full as I have camp, Tennessee, State Days, and hopefully our council get together. Outside of 4-H I will be very busy also because my family and I are going to Virginia Beach and Harrisburg and my sister is following in my footsteps and becoming an exchange student and heading to Italy for three weeks this summer with a short term exchange through Rotary. Also in the mix of that I have just a few soccer games left, and before you know it, school will be back and hopefully as good as this year has been. At State Days the new council will be brought in and our terms will be brought to an end. But something that I will never forget are the wonderful people and experiences that council gave me. It has been life changing and I wish everyone had the chance to do it. I would like to thank the other council members and our advisors for a year that I wouldn't change if I could. I became great friends with all of you and will miss you very much after this year.

Here Comes Summer!

WoooHoooooo summer is finally here but truly this summer will be a little bittersweet because it means my time is up with the State council and I will have to say goodbye to a group of friends that now have become a family to me and a part of my life. But on the positive side I have no homework or papers due and no more teachers and I can sit back a relax, just a little. As a write this I am thinking that I only have two more to write its kind of sad because I enjoy writing these blogs and it's my way of communicating to the people I may have or may not have meant yet, but I hope someday to meet. I guess  I know how Oprah felt counting down to her finale and how that must have felt. I just wish that every 4-Her had the time of their life like I have had the chance of experiencing these past months and how fast they have went by. This has truly been a life changing experience for me. So I hope ya'll have a wonderful Summer and enjoy every minute of it and live it to its fullest.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Yoder 2010/2011 Historian/ Reporter

Senioritis

At this moment in time I can feel the full effect of what many teachers and students at Maplewood High School call "senioritis"

Senioritis strikes most (99.9%) high school seniors around the mid point of their senior year, but can begin as early as 10th grade. I began experiencing the full effects of senioritis approximately two weeks ago, when my recruiter called and told me I had gotten my requested job in the Air Force. This was the only remaining concern I had about my near future, and once that had been put to rest, I decided it was time to just coast the remaining few weeks.

I've realized, the school can actually be an enjoyable place when you don't have to worry about studying for tests and doing homework. I have been lucky enough to have a study hall during an advanced foods class, and have decided to assimilate into that, so that I can work on my cullinary skills and not be completely unproductive.

May has been a pretty uneventful month for this 4-Her.

God Bless

Summer is near!!

As summer nears our schedules get busier. The council kids will all be doing there own thing coming together for are last few council events. The council has a trip to Tennessee planned and are all very excited to be heading there in July. After returning from TN we will be off to state days for our last big event. I will never forget the many incredible memories I have made while being part of such an incredible team. The council returned from capital days this month. As I was packing my bag to head out to the event that I had never attended before I was truly nervous. I was worried my parli pro skills would not be as good as they needed to and I had heard from previous council members that capital days could be a hard and trying 4 days but I found it truly enjoyable. The time i spent with my friends and the government officials was very exciting. This could be because I truly enjoy how our government works. So as summer nears and our schedules get busier we will all continue to enjoy our time left on council and our time left together as such an amazing team.


Echo Kincaid
Your State Council VPO