By: Blake Fox
On October 31st I woke up at 5:30 AM, but was too anxious to eat breakfast. At 7:05 I zipped up my favorite blue corduroy for the final time in six years. By 7:30 AM I was seated beside more than 3,000 other blue jackets. At roughly 10:45 AM I walked across the stage at the 88th annual National FFA Convention and Expo in Louisville Kentucky, proudly holding my American FFA Degree close to my chest. I shook the hand of the now former National FFA President Andy Paul. He congratulated me as we paused for a quick picture. I didn’t see any of the faces of the over 60,000 members and guests in attendance, I just heard the cheers in the distance from my friends, my family and my chapter as my name was called. I was handed my gold key and was off the stage in less than a minute. Ten minutes later I was laughing and hugging some of my best friends, trying our best not to be too sentimental. We shook hands and thanked those who congratulated us, smiled and posed for what seemed like thousands of pictures. At 11:30 AM I unzipped the jacket that changed my entire life for the very last time, knowing I won’t ever be putting it on again. My career as a member of the FFA was over in the course of a ceremony that lasted less than six hours. The day was bittersweet to say the least, and the feeling of standing on that stage that morning is simply indescribable. The day may have went by in the blink of an eye, but is easily one of my proudest moments. October 31st 2015, the day I received my American FFA Degree is a day I’ll never forget.
