Uncharted.

I love blogging, writing, and talking about ag, but this year I will set that aside to teach. I've joined the 2013 Teach For America Corps. I will be teaching high school english somewhere in South Carolina for two years. It may seem weird that after all of my effort toward ag journalism I'm taking on teaching instead of writing, speaking, or "Facebook-ing." To be honest 6 months ago I didn't plan on going anywhere near a classroom.

See God had different plans. He brought Teach for America into my life (I thought the first contact I had from them was spam). After giving the lovely recruiter 20 minutes of my day, I fully planned on forgetting the whole thing. I couldn't. For the next few weeks a passion I couldn't explain took over most of my spare thoughts. I'd never even considered that education inequality was an important issue. My passions were agriculture advocacy, not kids in classrooms. Suddenly all I could think about were the great teachers who had inspired me, and how it wasn't fair that where a kid lives determines the quality of their education.

Everywhere I looked, teachers, parents, and politicians were being blamed for the state of education. After the 6th article I decided enough talk, it was time to actually take action. Education is the foundation for society. So as an adult, who was single and flexible, I had a responsibility to take action to build the foundation. Teachers have the great responsibility of shaping those who are the future, and if I didn't like where the future was headed, why not take on the challenge of shaping it.

I know this isn't going to be easy, and I know that I will probably learn more from this experience than I could ever teach a class, but I'm committed to giving my very best to those kids. Kids who deserve a bright future, deserve great knowledge, and deserve a responsibility make a difference when they grow up. I don't know what the next two years will bring, but I do know that I will face them with strength that can only come from the Almighty. I refuse to abandon my love of the crops, cattle, and communities in farming and ranching, I'll just be adding to that passion the classroom.

'till the cows come home,

Ellie