It’s that time of year. National 4-H week is Oct. 2-8, so I’m here to promote 4-H and tell you what it has done to impact my life and many others.

There are so many misconceptions about 4-H and what it does that I have heard in the eight years that I have been a member of 4-H. And before you ask, no, you do not have to be a farmer to be in 4-H. Although many people only focus on the emphasis of agriculture in 4-H, there is so much more than that.

4-H is about community, leadership, and self-knowledge. It is an organization that really helps you learn more about yourself and others around you. 4-H has been such a significant part of my life for so long that I am not sure where I would be without it.

I joined 4-H in fourth grade and wasn’t really expecting it to change my life at all. I would go to meetings, enter projects in the fair, and go to club activities.

As I got older, though, I wanted to be more involved. I started running for officers in my club, and I was vice president for one year, treasurer for two, and I am currently the on my second term as president of my club. I am a counselor for 4-H camp and I enter projects for arts and crafts, photography and baking in the Riley County Fair.

I also joined the Riley County 4-H Council a couple of years ago and I am still an active council member. Lastly, I am a Riley County 4-H Ambassador. This means that I, and the seven other ambassadors, promote 4-H to non-4-H’ers and encourage them to join as well as encouraging young 4-H’ers to remain active in the 4-H community as they get older.

The most memorable experience I have had in 4-H was going on a trip to Washington D.C. with about 20 other 4-H’ers for a program called Citizen Washington Focus. This program allowed us to take a 10-day trip to Washington D.C. to sightsee and learn about citizenship and government with other 4-H’ers from around the country. I learned so much not only about this country, but also about myself. I found out that I absolutely love to travel and want to see so many new places and that I love being in a program that allows to be get to have experiences like this.

This trip was about a year ago but I still think about it daily. I have gained many lifelong friends that I still frequently talk to from this trip, not only from my group that I traveled with, but also from other groups ranging from Alabama to North Dakota to Iowa.

I encourage you to join 4-H so you can learn more about leadership, create lifelong friendships, learn new skills, help in your community and learn more about yourself and who you want to be. Together, we can make the best better.