2022-23 Kansas FFA Sentinel Mackenzie Anderson Delivers Retiring Address
Embrace Your Circle
“You may not be able to tell now because of how uncoordinated I am, but I played every sport I could growing up. Basketball, volleyball, swim team, and even track. I won’t lie and tell you I was good at any of these sports, but I certainly tried my best. In eighth grade, I decided during track season that I was going to run the 800-meter dash. The day came that I had to face the consequences of my own choices, I had to run 800 meters. *BANG* The gun went off and I tried to find my pace. Now the first lap everyone kept up with me, but the second lap I kicked it in gear and was ahead of everyone else… or at least that is what my coach told me should have happened but, instead, 3 minutes and 34 seconds later I cross the finish line in DEAD LAST. Before I had accepted my defeat of last place, I looked up to my entire family and all my friends cheering me on embarrassingly loud. That was the first time I took my team of supporters for granted. No matter how many times I airballed in basketball, missed a serve in volleyball, swam like a rock in swim team, or way overestimated my abilities in track, my family was always at the finish line screaming louder than the rest. There was always someone in my corner when I wanted to try something new.
Fast forward to the day before Thanksgiving during my Freshman year of high school, my mom’s entire family gathered for a trip to the movies. After tons of popcorn and laughs, we headed to my house. As we pulled into my driveway, Mom told me to run inside and unlock all the doors so everyone could get in when they arrived. I jumped out of the pickup, ran into the garage and opened the door to our house- repeating a simple task I did many times before. But this time everything was different. When I opened the door, a cloud of smoke poured out so large and thick it could have knocked me off my feet. My dad was already running towards me and I was ushered back to the car. I could hear sirens, see my mom crying, feel my aunt’s arms around me, and smell all the smoke, and all I was thinking was ‘This can’t be happening’.
It is impossible to explain all the emotions going through my body in those few moments. Imagine that you are at the top of a rollercoaster about to drop and your stomach starts turning. You round over the hill and drop, but never stop dropping. That is the closest way I can describe losing what seems like everything in seconds.
Just before Christmas, I was sitting in church thinking about everything that had happened just the month before. In one night, I had moved out of my home with nothing but a small bag of smokey clothes. I didn’t even have a tooth brush to use that evening. Looking around the church to see it decorated with everything Christmas, all I could think about was all of the Christmas traditions we had to miss out on because of our circumstances. I found myself sitting alone in that church pew with tears rolling down my face and looked up to see my priest moving toward me. He tried to comfort me by telling me that everything happens for a reason.
I always heard about these things happening to other people but never in a million years would I imagine anything like this would happen to my family. I pushed people away because they could never know what my family was feeling. They could never know what it was like to open the door to everything destroyed. No matter how hard I pushed people away, they fought to support me. It was clear that they were not going anywhere despite my best efforts. Their constant reminders that “everything would be ok” or that “everything happens for a reason” infuriated me in moments of pain, but now I realize that unwavering support is what I needed most.
In my days, weeks, and months of hopelessness I was surrounded by people that provided me the very thing I needed, hope. Friends, neighbors, classmates all offered their support. But most importantly, those same people that were screaming so embarrassingly loud during my track meet were there as well. My family was going through a very difficult time in our lives, but we were all together and that’s all that mattered.
There are so many people in our lives supporting us through the highs and the lows. How do they appear in our lives? What value do these supporters add to our lives? What barriers do they take down to help us succeed? Have we truly thanked these individuals enough?
Let’s close our eyes.
Imagine a circle. Now in that circle, imagine that friend who always picks up that check when you forget your wallet. Imagine that teacher who always gives you extensions when you need them. Imagine that family member who always asks you about your day. Imagine that teammate who always holds you accountable. Now imagine how you could thank those individuals for their constant and unwavering support. Visualize the look of satisfaction and appreciation on their face from your gratitude.
Let’s open our eyes.
The individuals that you just imagined are your circle of friends, family, and supporters.
My circle is comprised of my entire family, my Clovia sisters, my officer team, my ag teachers, and so many others. It took until something turned my life upside down, to recognize how many people I had in my circle. Those family members who yelled embarrassing loud when I came in last in the 800 meter dash, the friends and community that surrounded us through our house fire. Those individuals are the people I found in my circle.
During the 800 meter dash, before I crossed the finish line I could hear my circle yelling for me. After the house fire, the community we grew up in recognized our family’s struggles and offered everything they could to support us as we went through one of the hardest times of our lives. My circle empowered me by offering their loud cheers, their support, their prayers, and their love.
These individuals and their ability to make time to show up for us when we need it most should not go unnoticed. It’s important to acknowledge their efforts and reciprocate these actions in order to maintain our circle. There are 1,440 minutes in a day. Out of all those minutes, it takes 5 to share words of appreciation, face-to-face. It takes 3 leave words on appreciation on our teachers desk. It takes 1 minute to get off tiktok and send a text of appreciation to someone in our circle. If we invest in the people that surround us, show them that we care and provide simple gestures of appreciation, then we will reap the benefits of engaging with the people that love us most.
Our circle is comprised of the very people that will stand by us through every failed race, test score, accomplishment and every terrible travesty. No matter how many times we call them, no matter how far away we move, these people have and will continue to positively impact our lives. Dont wait until our lives turn upside down to recognize and appreciate our circles. We need to learn to not only recognize those individuals but also serve those people in our circle.
Kansas FFA, find your circle, empower your circle, and most importantly embrace your circle.“
