My 4H story

My 4H story

Hi I am Emily Nolan and participating in Creston 4H. This year has been a wonderful experience. I am 14 years old and have lived in Paso for almost 5 years. I live out in 2 acres with My mom and Dad and 1 younger brother. I have had many animals. I absolutely love animals and never would want to hurt them, I can never see a animal leave my life once it came into it. So when I told people that I was raising a lamb for market, people didn’t believe me let alone didn’t think I would follow through. After researching what 4H was and what that entails was a worth a try. I joined Creston 4H this year I was scared and unsure of this whole program, but that wasn’t a problem anymore after the first five minutes I felt part of the Creston 4h family. I then found out that my good friend Sara and her siblings were in the program. Creston 4H was the perfect small program to join for my first year.

I went into this program not knowing much about it or what I had to do to be in the group. I soon figured out it was a fun thing to get involved in to help with the community. I learned how important it is to make goals for yourself in life. I made a few goals to start off my 4H year. I started off with making sure I was involved in the program 100% and my second goal was for me to do all my record books in time. I soon got involved enough in the program that I decided I was going to take the position as secretary of Creston 4H next year. I am very excited of my new spot on the board but that mean I will have more responsibilities. To be a citizen of Creston 4H you do have to be a good role model and show that you can handle different situations that you encounter. Creston 4H is showing us responsibities and maturing all throughout the year in everything we do as if its raising an animal.. Be ing present at the meetings, helping at our community events. It all matters to our community and to our club.

I got interested in this program and decided I wanted to do a lamb for the first year. I knew nothing about lambs. But in no time I learned everything I could about them. I started my year off by going to all the meetings and learning the basics. I then went when it was time to go pick out my two lambs with my grandparents. I picked one lamb for market and one for companion. Calvin is for market and Kline is for companion. Seeing and raising both of these lambs taught me a great lesson and were such a blessing to watch grow older and develop their body and personality. I soon found out how mischievous lambs can be, they were always in stuff and making a mess. I learned what showmanship was and how much you needed to work on it. I also learned about how to be in the ring and the etiquette it takes. When practicing these procedures for showmanship, Calvin was stubborn and didn’t want to push back as he was too friendly to hurt me or be pushy. I must say in times I do like that he wasn’t pushy but I do need it for bracing. Calvin grew very close to me and we became great buds, which will be very hard for me to let go of such a close friend .Calvin has a very funny personality and is such a loving boy. I will miss Calvin very much when he goes off to market. But what really counts is that he had a great life and did very well and made it a great experience for me. Its funny how such a small animal can make such a big impact on your life. Calvin has made my 4H expericance a ecstasy and superior experience.