4-H For the Good of Me

BOZEMAN - - I'm good, I'm great, I can really do it! Do you think that's a positive attitude? You better believe it, and 4-H helped me to achieve it. My confidence wasn't always that positive and sometimes it slips a little, but a few days working on a 4-H project and my positive attitude begins to build again.

Until a few years ago, I was what one would call a typical city kid. My hardest chores were making my bed and being ordered out the door with the garbage. Then we moved out to the farm. My dad grew up on a farm and my mom thought baby animals were so cute we needed some in our lives. Would you believe they actually expected us kids to help clean the barn, chicken coop and pig pens?

Then there was the feeding and watering these animals every day! They must have thought I had nothing better to do. My life was like a nightmare. I was missing my prime TV time. Then to top things off my parents got the bright idea that since we lived on a farm that we should join 4-H. Now please understand that 4-H is not the "in thing" in our town, but a few kids every once in a while decide to give it a try. Well I did and you know what? I liked it. It was fun and what's more, I had done something special. My first projects in "Exploring 4-H" weren't just a bean plant in a shoe or a battery hooked up to wires. They were my entries in the fair for which I won blue ribbons. That was five years ago and since then every year has gotten better. I even take animals as projects now.

• Justin Loch with one of his entries. (Yes, he's 9th grade.)(46K GIF file)

4-H isn't just winning ribbons, trophies or getting a good price on one's market animal. 4-H is one of the most helpful and educational organizations in the country. It's a big help in preparing me for the real world. All of its projects are aimed at teaching one something of use in the future.

Whether it's agriculture, home economics, science or another field there is something for everyone's interest. 4-H is also a big help in school. One learns to demonstrate, give speeches in front of a classroom, and to be part of a group. It helps me to stay busy and out of trouble.

4-H has taught me a great deal about helping people in times of need. We went door-to-door collecting food for the community food bank and helped earn money to send it to others who needed it.

One also learns about appreciating and taking care of the environment. We recycled, planted trees and helped clean up the road ditches. One is made to feel a part of the community by doing for others.

4-H builds self-esteem and teaches good and positive sportsmanship. Winning isn't everything, but being a part of something is, and that's what will make a person feel like a winner all of the time.

There is no limit to the positive motivation 4-H gives. Since I've been in 4-H I've worked with electricity, plants, leather, shooting sports, dogs, sheep, pigs and now this year a steer. I've learned how to properly care for, groom and show all these animals with no fear as I once had. I still get a little nervous entering the ring to show but I have confidence in myself to believe I know what I am doing and do it even well enough to show others how. That's what 4-H is really about -- taking what I have learned and passing it on. That's my future goal starting Junior Leadership next year. It's a great feeling being able to show someone else how to do things and have them look up to you. Who knows where this will lead. Someday if you see a tall, dark-haired young man standing addressing a crowd, you may say, "I remember him. He was in 4-H."
From the 4-H Clover Project Selection Guide