Personal Narrative: Growing Up In Rural Nebraska

Growing up in rural Nebraska had its benefits and drawbacks. The freedom to virtually do anything outside was nice, but it came at the expense of my social life along with making my aspirations harder to follow. I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything, but I would be lying if I told you I didn’t struggle living in a rural community. The pressure of being a farmer’s son is very high. General tasks usually range from chores to operating machinery. The problem that I encountered was a lack a trust within my family. My father was a perfectionist with regards to anything he owned. For instance, if any of our vehicles, including work trucks, received a scratch or a scuff mark my father would get extremely upset. This unhealthy obsession of perfection carried over to his machinery and farm work. Due to perfection, I was never taught how to run any of our machinery. It wasn’t for a lack of trying. Whenever we were not swamped with tasks to complete I would ask my dad if he could teach me. The answer was and is still the same today. No. High school was the worst. I hated the eight o’clock start time, the classes, most of the teachers and the majority of my graduating class. In high …show more content…
In 4-H I showed beef and dairy cattle along with numerous building exhibits which ranged from photography, gardening, wood working, baking, crafting and sewing. My favorite part of the Richardson County Fair was the showmanship competition for beef cattle. I was a proud winner of the showmanship jacket for eight years in a row. In FFA I ironically served as Reporter and would become president of the Falls City chapter. Being president of the chapter was a great experience, but I always felt a bit out of place. During FFA week it was weird to see most members driving their parent’s tractor while I continued to drive my half ton truck. Luckily, the president position was mostly focused on