Merk.

Hey guys! As you may or may not know, I have been gone for almost two weeks for both the Ford Leadership Scholars training week and the 84th Texas FFA Convention. Now, I know that it probably would have been better to make posts day by day so that my recollection of the events were more accurate, but I wasn't intuitive enough to do just that. So, rather than going on and on about everything that has gone down in the past two weeks (which have been the best two of my life), I am going to have a relatively short post about the best thing that I have gained from this... Relationships.

No, not the "boyfriend-girlfriend" kind of relationships. Y'all know me; that's the last thing I care about! Rather, I am speaking of the relationships that you build and fortify naturally, have the want to keep strong, and mean the most to you in the long-run.

Starting with my Ford Scholars week, the relationships that I gained could have remained on a professional level. I could have worked with them and added them to my network, only to pull back out when I thought it might be advantageous to me. But that's not what I wanted. It was my goal to connect with them professionally, and then personally. Having professional relationships with others can only take you so far. It will help you nurture your skills in whatever aspect that you wish, and they will teach you how to compose yourself among others. But it is that personal touch that enables you to truly get to know who you are working with; that personal touch which gives you genuine happiness, leading then to good health and mind; and that personal touch that allows the relationship to be more enriching and enjoyable.

But I can't just talk about how my "second family" works well together. They are truly now some of my best friends and I can't wait to see where they go with their service projects and beyond. The amount of jokes that we had together (merk, seriously?, think about it, crack fox, etc.), laughs we shared, emotions we let out, and sweat we sweated together really made this group a very special one. I wouldn't trade my friendships with them for anything in the world.

State Convention was also a blast and taught me a different aspect of relationships. When seeing the other area officers from across the state, I realized that most of them had only seen me at the State Leadership Conference earlier this Summer. Some of them embraced me with open arms, while others didn't look at me any differently than they looked at a stranger. That was true on my side, too. First impressions truly are everything, and I am definitely more aware of that now.

But it was great seeing them all again regardless. I made some new bonds, as well as making some stronger ones, and they are very much another "second family" of mine (I love all my families!). I also realized the influence I have now as someone who is making more and more relationships. The amount of people from within my area who recognized me was startling to me, and I now know that I influence them in the same way that past officers influenced me. I must do my best from day to day to ensure that it is a positive influence that will make a real difference.

Not even two hours after I got home from all of this, I received a phone call from a friend of mine in the FFA. They simply wanted to say "thank you for being my role model." I had no clue how to react to that, but it was alarming. How could I, W Hayden Lander, have that sort of impact on another person's life? How did I become someone to look up to? When did I begin making a difference? I may never have these answers, but I must continue doing whatever it is that I am doing right, and I thank the Lord every day for calling me to this fine organization.

Now, I know that this blog's content is sort of bland, but I'm hoping to have more entertaining content mixed in in the future. I will also be editing the look when I figure out how to do so completely. It's a work in progress! Bear with me.

Signing out.
W

Superhero. Super Who? Super YOU!

The above title was the theme for the 2012 Area III Leadership Camp this year. I must say, we could not have selected a more appropriate title.

You see, with the recent release of the box office hit "The Avengers", we had many idealistic superheros flying around in our minds. However, after Area Camp was over with, I realized that our predetermined definition of a superhero wasn't very realistic. Superheros don't fly, have super strength, or swing from skyscraper to skyscraper with spider webs. The superheros that truly exist and matter in our lives don't even have capes... Well, except for the ones that they fashioned out of pillow camps before camp started. The superheros that I know are people like the great District Officers that I got to meet and work with on June 13 and 14.

I learned so much from these officers, both within mine and Brooklynn's workshop, as well as watching how they interacted and worked with each other. I know that is cheesy sounding. When I had the people in charge of conferences and camps say that in the past, I always shrugged it off as something that they were supposed to say. But I now know that I can learn more from these eager leaders than I could from the most experienced leaders out there.

I'm not saying that the experienced ones are unimportant; I have learned SO much from them. Rather, this is a type of learning experience unparalleled to any you can get. In order to highlight what one can learn in this situation, I will share the most important lesson that was learned by me at Area Camp. One District Officer had said during one workshop rotation that her ultimate goal as an officer this year was simply to learn. She wanted to take in as many leadership skills, personal relationships, and professional qualities as she could in order to give back to those who believed in her abilities. This way, she could give that same passion and motivation to others who may have never wanted to previously.

So, that is what I want to do this year: learn. I want to learn, as well as inspire those who are already leaders to lead more; those who are aspiring leaders to become leaders; those who say they can't lead into individuals who say they can lead; and those who believe in only others into people who believe in others as well as themselves.

Superheros defy all expectations, so follow their lead and break free from the limits set on you by others. As the Texas FFA State Convention's theme says, "It Starts Here, It Starts Now." What will you do to make a difference?

And so it began...

On June 1, I left with my Area III Officer team for the Texas FFA State Leadership Conference for the Area Officers across the state of Texas. We left a day early so that we wouldn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn the next day, and we stayed in a hotel in Temple, meeting up with Area X while we were there. After eating at Five Guys together, as well as hanging out at the pool, we ended up all playing Spoons and other card games until around midnight. That is where what we call Area XIII began, and it was just the first group of many amazing individuals that I met and stayed with until we all left in a very bittersweet manner on June 5.

I could go on and on describing everything that we did. From the creation of Happy Gram folders to the time we all went crazy when creating our cup pyramids; from the panel discussion with very knowledgeable leaders in agriculture to the unveiling of the new 2013 Ford F-150 where the CEO of Ford Motors was present; from convincing the Dungeons & Dragons club to join FFA to advocating for my agvocation; from learning professionalism to how to facilitate (as well as how not to facilitate) a workshop; from the time a sprinkler turned on right as Hannah walked past it to the multiple times that we all rode the Struggle Bus; from three powerful Vespers to being an active part of a committee that could change the course of both the Texas and National FFA; from the crazy dances to the frigid cabins; and from getting to know our Current State Officers (CSOs) better to finally meeting all of the Incoming State Officers (ISOs). But instead of talking about those, I feel that it is much more important to talk about WHY we did these things, rather than WHAT they were.

Being elected to an Area office in the FFA should never be just a title that we wanted for recognition and praise. The members of this great organization didn't elect us for that. They elected us to serve this organization, to spread the word about agriculture, and to leave a positive influence on the lives of others. I think that this fact really hit me for the first time at SLC. I knew all of this beforehand, but now I realize the full extent of it.

The Ethical Leadership Fellows showed us a shocking video where they went out and interviewed random people in public about their knowledge of agriculture. To see that there are people who both don't care and don't know the full extent of agriculture came as a shock to me. One individual, when asked how agriculture had affected his life that day, responded with "I ate corn for lunch." Yes, albeit food is a part of agriculture, the fact that this was the only thing he thought was related to agriculture in his everyday life is a sad thing.

So, how does that relate to what I was saying? Area Officers, having the knowledge that we eat, wear, and live agriculture daily, are duty bound to spread this message. If there are adults in our world who don't know these things, then we must work tirelessly to ensure that the next generation of adults do. We must continuously educate ourselves on the many happenings within agriculture, and we must be the leaders to promote this most important field to the public. We are the image of the FFA, and it is up to us to inspire, motivate, and educate. Leadership is influence, and that is what we must leave.

The support system that I have gained because of SLC is amazing. The 73 other Area Officers, the 10 CSOs, the 10 ISOs, all of the speakers, and the staff of the Texas FFA that I was with showed me what it takes to be a passionate and driven leader. I had believed in the abilities of them to make a difference, and they helped me believe in my own ability to make a difference. The world is a growing place and, with that, agriculture is having to expand at a faster rate than ever. I am now ready, with the help of all of these other brilliant people, to provide the same inspiration to the rest of the FFA and, with that, those outside of this organization as well. It's not going to be an easy job always, but, as Mr. Aaron Alejandro (Executive Director of the Texas FFA Foundation) said, "When your values are clear, your choices are easy." I'm ready for the year as an Area Officer.

I have one thing to say about what it takes to kindle change in this world... "It starts here. It starts NOW."

I hope this post wasn't too redundant and superfluous. I'm still catching up on some sleep!

Area III Dog (CSO), Pup (ISO), and Fleas (Area Officers)

Here I am posing with the 2011-2012 Texas FFA State Officer Team!

"Area XIII"

Kelli Neuman and me. She is the CSO who inspired this blog and is a pretty awesome chick!

Peyton Gilbert and me. He is the Texas FFA President and one of my biggest role models. Thanks for all you've done for me and the Texas FFA!