My 4-H Days

To me, 4-H has changed me in so many ways. If you do not know what 4-H is, you probably missed out. Since I was 6 years old, I was part of a club called Loose Shoe 4-H and it taught me so many things. Twice every month we would have a meeting going over all the things that we needed to go over. We talked about fundraisers for us to go on trips, raising money to donate to charities and animal shelters. About once every other month we would take a trip; sometimes to a horse rescue barn to help feed and clean, sometimes to the beach to see a full moon, sometimes even out of state. One of my favorite trips was when we went down to New Hampshire to see the barn that all the Budweiser horses were kept and trained. 4-H was more than just trips though.

Being a part of 4-H, I made friends all throughout the state. I’ve seen people in little country stores all the way up in Garland that I know and can have a whole conversation and catch up with out of the blue. Because of 4-H, I am now part of a whole horse loving, animal showing community. Just about everywhere I go I see someone that I once showed with, or trained with, and we are close enough and have enough in common that we can have a million things to talk about even if we have seen each other in years. I think that the biggest thing I’ve learned in 4-H is because of this aspect; social skills.

Every summer I went to 2-3 horse camps that my horse and I would stay at for at least 4 days. Some of these “horse” camps had other 4-H camps going on at the same time, such as dog camps, goat camps, and cow camps. We could sign up for classes to work with people from other camps and make friends all through the state. The biggest concept of 4-H is working as a team, so this is how I learned many social skills. I have never been good at socializing and making friends, but in 4-H it was like everybody was already friends. Meeting someone for the first time was not stressful in 4-H because we knew we had something in common already, and 4-Hers were never judgemental or mean. At 4-H camps, or shows, I was always able to just approach people without having anxiety or stress about what to say, how to act. And because of my time in 4-H, I can socialize better without much anxiety.

Also, in 4-H I learned patience, how to work with a team, and how to be self-motivated. In all honesty, I think I learned more in my 12 years in 4-H then I ever could in school. It taught me real world problems, and situations. It taught me how to get involved in my community, and how to help people out as much as I can. I can’t imagine how my life would’ve ended up if I hadn’t have been in 4-H. I am a better person because of 4-H, and can confidently say that if I could go back I would do it a hundred times over. It’s changed my life in so many ways, and has made me the person I am today.