AgWithAdam

A 4 inch steel nail was driven to my wall all the way back in 2021. You might be asking yourself, Why? The answer to that question was a dream I made for myself when I wrote my “long term goal” in FFA. The nail is a symbol for the day that I win, first place in an agriculture competition, and put the “first place plaque” on that nail.

Each and every single day I walked into my room, I saw that nail. It was a reminder of the promise I made to my past self. For years, I competed, but never won. This journey followed me well into college Where I was privileged to get another chance in competing in agriculture events and try once more to prove myself.

Many people might ask, what was Adam trying to prove? The fact that he could be a winner by getting first in an event? The Yeahanswer is actually no. As much as my competitive ego loves to win, the story was much deeper.

when I first began my journey in FFA, I began to pursue a passion and not only agriculture, but teaching. But there was a problem, anytime I mentioned it I was told I didn’t belong, and I will never be successful and being a voice in agriculture, and an educator. As unhealthy of a decision, that 17-year-old Adam made. He vowed to prove everybody wrong and prove that he did belong. The way he thought he would be successful, is by getting his name out there on a plaque that would forever sit on his wall. The competition didn’t matter, he just wanted his “First Place” plaque.

For years, He was on this journey and he knew that his time was running out because as his collegiate career was coming to an end, he knew the last chance he would ever have would be on March 12, 2026 at the National PAS Conference. After waiting anxiously, That week became the present. I traveled 5 1/2 hours to Branson, Missouri along with Five other individuals to compete in my last ever agriculture, events. I competed and placed in the following events.

Agriculture Education Career Systems – National Champion

Agronomy Team – 5th Place Team

College Bowl – 5th Place Team

Prepared Public Speaking – 3rd Place Individual

yes, you read that right? I finally got my “First place” plaque that I had been dreaming of four years. The cherry on top was that it was in the event that sets up my future profession. However, winning first place didn’t mean as much as I originally thought it would. Instead, the greatest thing about this past week was the memories and unforgettable moments that I made with the five other individuals who attended alongside me.

In life, we are always striving for success. But do we really know what success means? The issue in my life is, I was trying to measure success in inches of steel instead of miles of memories like I should’ve been. I still wish I could’ve spent less time stressing, and more time having fun with the opportunities that were given to me.

So you might be asking yourself, what am I going to do with the nail on the wall? The truth is, I’m keeping it in the wall, but instead of hanging my first place plaque on it I’m hanging the picture of the people that made the trip to Branson so special.

The nail outlived the dream. The dream wasn’t winning, but the journey.