Farmer Jen: The Fear of Aging Out

Another fair season has come and gone for me. This made my 16th year showing animals at my local county fair and my 7th year showing at the state fair. However, with the total years of me showing animals rising, my age is rising as well. In fact, I only have two years left until I can't show as a 4-H or FFA member anymore. To tell the truth, that scares me to death. I will then become what my Granny says, a has-been. Everything will start with was, not am or is. I will have to start saying I was a 4-H member or I was an FFA member. I dread the day I turn 21 because the part of my life that I have treasured for so long, showing livestock as a junior, will have to come to an end at the end of that 4-H year.
It is hard not to reflect on everything that I was able to accomplish and participate in, and think of what I could have done more or things that I wish I would have been able to go to earlier. I wish I could have started showing at the state fair earlier and gone to bigger shows, but I also didn't get involved in showing purebred animals until about midway in my 4-H career.
Despite all of these regrets and the sadness that goes with aging out, it is still important to look back on all of the opportunities and accomplishments that happened in the past 11 years of showing as a junior exhibitor.

1. Scholarships: If I would not have been able to show, I know of at least two scholarships that I have received that I probably would not have gotten. There are numerous scholarships that I also probably would not have even heard of if it had not been for showing.

2. Closer to Family: I must say, especially within the past few show seasons, I have grown much, much closer to my family.

3. Friends: All of the friends I have been able to make via shows and being in 4-H and FFA in general were lifesavers when it came to my first year of college.

4. Time management: Those 8 a.m shows definitely proved that time management is super important. Getting up early enough, getting everything washed, blow dried, fed, and fitted in time for the show lends itself towards helping you get pretty good at time management.

It's going to hurt when I come out of the showring that final time as a junior exhibitor, but it will be so worth it. Tears have been shed, tears will be shed, but I would not trade for any of it.