Signatures

Around this time of year, you can find your friendly neighborhood officers doing a few things. Among them are frantically studying for finals, signing Christmas cards for Kansas FFA, and celebrating the holidays together. The first isn’t very fun, but we’ve certainly put quite a bit of effort into it. The second two are pretty fun! As I was running through the Christmas cards with my trusty pen, I started thinking about what it actually meant to sign my name on all of these cards.
I’ve never really thought about what my signature symbolizes, but when I consider what it encompasses I get a little weirded out with the significance of a few little letters. A signature can be defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as “something that serves to set apart or identify: a characteristic mark”. In other words, our signature sets us apart as unique individuals, and serves to represent us in our entirety. Our team’s Christmas celebration helped to reinforce how truly unique people can be. The Dillons welcomed our team into their home for a pre-finals dinner, where we were treated to some pretty great food and we celebrated each other as teammates. Each gift we gave to another teammate showed how different we are and how we celebrate each others’ unique traits. For instance, Clara received quite a few cat related items because, well, we all know Clara appreciates felines. This week has only helped to reiterate all of the unique qualities and personalities we possess.
Throughout all of this year’s conferences, events, and chapter visits, I’ve never met two members who are the same. Every member I’ve met so far possesses some unique trait or quality that sets them apart from their peers. I’ve even seen twins that look almost identical contribute to their chapters in unique ways. Whether we approach a problem with a unique perspective, we’re gifted with specific talents, or we understand how to use our skills in a certain way, we each bring something different to the table. We each have our own “signatures”. Realizing that we each have our own “signatures”, we have an obligation to serve, because no one else can contribute our unique talents. We have to make an active decision to embrace what sets us apart and use that to serve our chapters and communities.
However you plan on celebrating the holidays, your family surely has their own special traditions. As you celebrate in your own unique way, take time to consider how you can be unique in your service.

Jacob Grinstead, Kansas FFA Reporter