Update: College Life

I've been struggling to find time to write my blog and update what I've been doing since I began my third year at The Ohio State University. I'm pleased to inform everyone that I have adapted well to the big city life of main campus in Columbus, OH. I have made some great friends and connections already. I'm also excited about the upcoming week because I will be going through initiation to become one of the noble brothers of Alpha Gamma Rho Beta Chapter.

My classes are relatively easy (although if you asked me personally I still hate math). My favorite course this quarter has been my public speaking course (comm321) because I have gotten to know many people from main campus, not just ag campus and I have been privileged to learn about so many areas outside of agriculture. But the reason I enjoy it so much is because I've been put in a position to share my experiences and facts about agriculture with my new friends outside of agriculture.

Last week I gave a short presentation to the class about commercial pork production and the benefits of using sophisticated, enclosed barns for intensive management purposes as well as better health reasons. The next speaker in my class gave a presentation about the negative effects of commercial (factory as he said) farming. His speech talked about three companies that are hard at work to overtake agriculture and then force their ways upon all consumers. He had some great, graphic visuals that depict the negative side of agriculture, but his visuals weren't cohesive with the main point of his speech.

I was very interested in his speech, and although I wanted to raise my hand and call him out on several of his facts I'm proud of my ability to withhold and listen with an open mind to his speech. Reflecting on the speeches we gave last week has helped me realize several things.

1. I can see clearly, first hand why it is so important to provide the truth and first hand information about agriculture as an agvocate and a producer.

2. My ever-growing skills in agvocating both online and in person are more important now than ever. My ability to look through some of the points made and see the underlying message of the speeches I hear has greatly increased my interest in listening to others as well as give me more reason to make new connections outside of agriculture.

3. Even college students are interested in who is producing the food we eat.

I hope that in the future I can talk to my fellow student about some points of interest between the two of us and maybe introduce him to more agfacts that will help him in his search for the answers in agriculture.

I want to thank my fellow student for helping me come to these three realizations and relighting my flame for agvocating. I hope to stay on top of my blog as the school year goes on.