SPECTRUM 2007-2008

“I hate these cows, I hate living here, and I want to be normal!”? My dad’s face was red, and I could hear his pulse speed up. He exploded into a speech about my ungratefulness. “You should be thankful for what you have; your mom and I busted our a** for this. You have two parents you see everyday, three hundred acres to run free, and responsibility you will thank us for later.”? Guilt shot through me like a bullet. I have lived on a farm in Wrenshall, Minnesota, since I was born, and not a day has passed that I haven’t had some kind of responsibility on the farm. Farm life affects my maturity, my work ethic, and my social life.

Farm life matured me at warp speed. From a young age, I learned to deal with bad situations and face the harsh realities of life. I was six years old in our dimly-lit barn with my dad when Becky, one of our cows, gave birth. I watched with great fascination as the purple-colored water bag made its way out. A few minutes later the bag popped open, water splashed out, and I could see little white and black hooves sticking out. My dad said, “You have to wait until the feet come out a little more, so you can tie the string on them and pull.”? We waited for fifteen minutes, and there was still no movement, so we had to intervene. My dad told me, “Push back on the skin while I try to reach the feet.”? The calf was backwards, which was a major complication. A half hour later, the calf was pulled out, and it did not move. I was very sad, but I didn’t want my dad to think I was weak, so I helped him clean up, and then I sat in my room and thought about the calf. I realized that it could have been a number of things that caused the death, and at that point my thinking matured; I understood that sometimes bad things happen for no reason, and we can’t always help them. In addition, I learned quickly that every action has a consequence. For example, as a child, my siblings and I loved to play in the barn. While we played in our hay shed ,my brother, sister, and I decided we should go play in the barn, even though our parents had warned us not to play around the cows when they weren’t nearby. We went anyway, and our game of tag became very aggressive as we jumped under cows and leapt over hay bales. I was about to get tagged when I jumped under the wrong cow. She was a young heifer, just brought in the barn, and nervous. She kicked me hard in the leg and then stepped on my foot. I learned my lesson very quickly to think before I act because there will be consequences. Thanks to farm life, I am very mature in how I think and act.

My constant responsibility has taught me a solid work ethic. I always complete things the right way and to the best of my ability. For example, as a child, I had special jobs to do everyday. I was about seven years old, my arms were the size of a twig, and people had to be careful not to break me in half. My job was to sweep the mangers our cows ate from. The cement was chipped and usually wet, which made for an even harder time sweeping. The cows nearly knocked me over when they licked me with their massive pink tongues, and they always coughed up green and yellow snot and spit on me. I was frustrated with the cows and the amount of old feed and hay in the manger the day I decided to say, “Screw it!”? I went outside to play with my dog, but then my dad came out and yelled, “You better get back in there and do it the right way!”? He fumed with anger, and I never did anything less than my best work again. In addition to farm work, my work ethic is carried over to other aspects of my life. For example, in basketball, we run a grueling course of stairs that includes four different sets of stairs with about twenty steps per set. Once, my legs began to burn as I ran around the track for the sixth time. I wanted to give up, and as I ran by the water fountain it seemed to scream at me, but I knew that I couldn’t stop. If I stopped, I would not be doing the job I set out to do, so I pushed through the rest of the run and didn’t stop once. A good work ethic is a positive effect on my entire life.

My social life has always come second to farm life. I have learned great discipline thanks to my daily commitments to the barn chores. For example, one summer day five friends of mine were going to Cornucopia, Wisconsin, to visit a beautiful white sand beach. They wanted me to go, and when I asked my dad, he said, “That’s fine, if you can be home for afternoon chores at four.”? Of course, the drive is nearly two hours each way, and that wasn’t going to happen, so I had to tell my friends I couldn’t go but to tell me ahead of time if they went again, so I could make the arrangements to be gone. The same goes for morning chores at four a.m.. For example, one stormy night, my friend and I were bored, and we wanted to play in the rain. So we went and got his four-wheeler and went mudding. It was late, and my hair was caked in mud along with every piece of clothing I had on. We paid no attention to time when we ran out of gas, nowhere near his house. We started walking home, and I knew I was going to be a little late that night. When we got to his house, I checked my phone, and I had a text message from my mom saying, “You better be home for chores in the morning!”? I had to laugh that in spite of not knowing where I was, my parents first thoughts were being home for chores. I hone my time management skills everyday thanks to farm life.

Farm life has matured me much faster than other kids my age by exposing me to adult situations. It gives me a strong work ethic by having to practice it everyday. And it has shaped my social life by teaching me I can’t always do everything I want. Overall, farm life has left a positive mark on my life; it will affect my maturity, my work ethic, and my social choices for the rest of my life.