Should I continue 4-H next year?

Question

I have been in 4-h for several years, about ten. I have been in sewing, cake decorating, sheep, swine, and beef. In the past year I took steers and pigs, and did very well at county fair. Although through out the summer I have had several fights with my family regarding our projects. It is a lot of work and I am busy all summer. I am the president of my club and I really do enjoy it, however I'm not sure it's completely worth all the fighting and stress etc. So I'm considering not doing it next year, what do you think? Should I stay in 4-h or not?

Answer 1

Are you really wanting to quit 4-H...?  You have a variety of experiences in 4-H with various projects and a leadership position as club president and that you really enjoy it.  I think you have your answer, quit bowing to other peoples pressure and be yourself.  You are a leader and quitting is not an option in life.  Stand up to and support the 4-H motto "To make the best better"...  

Family infighting is never productive and is a clash of personalities where everyone is trying to be right.  No one wins family arguments.  Learn to step back when emotions start up.  Take a break from whatever you are doing and let your family members know that you wish to discuss an issue but you are not going to make a big deal about it.  Then walk away and continue it later when everyone can be a bit more objective.  You are a leader, be open to everyone's suggestions and then make a reasonable choice.

You may want to consider changing your name from "Ima Princess"...  As long as you think you are a princess, everyone is going to want to wear your glass slippers.  It is time for you to have a bit more of a grown up name and put on your Justin's or Ariat's or whatever other leather boot someone of your maturity should wear.

You cannot quit 4-H, it will be with you for the rest of your life.  Now enjoy your remaining years and get on with it!

Answer 2

I think that you should stay in 4-H but that is only my personal opinion.  Take some time now in the fall when 4-h has a bit of a down time to talk it over with your family. Maybe you need to take a few less projects and just focus on doing your best in them.  The fair is a stressful time, just like final in school, but I hope you keep trying!

Answer 3

it is your decision, however 4-h has many great educational advantages and scholarships if you plan on going to college.  It also show leadership, commitment, and integrity to future employers

Answer 4

Ultimately, you need to decide whether 4-H truly makes you happy. If you really enjoy doing it, you need to tell your family so. Regardless of the fact that they are not very expressive. This sounds like it is your greatest problem, and will continue to be until someone in your family makes the effort to begin communicating well. It may feel awkward in the beginning, but in the long run, getting everyone's thoughts out in the open will help your family become closer, fight less often, and resolve disagreements and problems easier. From what you've said, it seems that 4-H makes you happy. If this is the case, tell your family, and stick with it. You can earn the extra money to cover the feed, and get the scholarship money too. It never hurts to have more options for scholarship money. Good luck!

Answer 5

First comes your family.  If they will not allow you to be in 4-H, so be it.  But if there is a chance, take any role or project you can with your family approval.  Good luck!

Answer 6

4-H is an excellent organization, I found it to be a rewarding experience.  I presume that the fights are over the animal projects, especially since you mention being so busy.  Animals take a lot of time and work, maybe you should just drop the animals.  I myself never had any animals, but participated in livestock judging.  Also, consider the citizenship activities; I loved helping people and political action.

add.

My county did not have judging, until I asked for and recruited others to start a judging team.  So, it can be done.

Answer 7

It sounds like you have to settle the problems you are having with your family, then every thing should be ok  Remember you are fighting with the ones you love the most , is this really necessary?

Answer 8

As a former 4-H'er, I strongly suggest staying in the program.

I think the first and foremost thing you should be thinking of is not so much yourself or your projects, but how your involvement in 4-H can affect and help others.

One of the most important things about 4-H is making the best better.  What kind of community service programs are you involved with in your club or at the county/regional/state level?  I know from when I was a part of the program I was doing at least a few different volunteer projects a month related to 4-H.  I know that a lot of the time it seems like you do and do and do, but you have no idea how much just a little bit of effort on your part combined with the effort of your fellow clubmates adds up to be something profound to the reciepient of your dedication and service.  Whether it is an elderly couple that you rake leaves for, a preschool that you stop by to read a few books to the kids, or planting flowers on Main Street, each of these tasks means a LOT to the people in your community.

Fair projects always seem like they are huge in the 4-H curriculum, but in the long run they are only a fragment of it.  Doing a project teaches you dedication, commitment, the ability to achieve goals, leadership, creative, and much, much more.  Even though I graduated from 4-H many years ago, it is something that always stands out on my resume.  Each and every potential employer has always commented on that.  In the 'real' world, it is an asset.

While I suggest staying with 4-H, I also suggest really examining what you do for your projects next year.  You mention that your animals did not do as well as you would have liked.  Is it possible that you are spreading yourself too thin?  My thought is that it would be better to have one pig that is outstanding rather than multiple animals that mediocre.  

As for other projects beyond the animals, what do you like to do that could be incorporated into a project?  If you don't like cake decorating and sewing, chose something else!  There are so many different opportunities that you could check out in horticulture, natural resources, photography, communications, other types of cooking, international studies, family care, drawing and painting, health, etc.  Or, even better, does your county offer the Self Determined project?  It is where you create your own project area.  I did this a few years -- one year I did astronomy, another mycology (mushrooms), and a third writing (this was before my county expanded the communications project to include this).  With this project you can do anything you want that is not normally involved in the fair and you have even more opportunities to do what you like!

As for the scholarship, that is super important!  Trust me, any money that you can get free and clear for college is going to be a great benefit!  I paid for my education solely on scholarships, 4-H winnings, and summer jobs (undergrad) and a stipend (grad school).  To be out after school and to not have that loan hanging over my head is nice!  You can never go wrong with a scholarship, no matter what value it is.

Good luck on your decision, and no matter what you chose, you will make the right decision.  You have to be comfortable with what you decide, no matter what others suggest or think!  =)

Answer 9

If you really enjoy doing it, then I don't see why you would quit 4-H.