I find it fascinating how difficult it can be to choose a
path when pursuing higher education, and yet when you settle on the right
subject, it seems so obvious. For me, that subject is sustainable agriculture,
however it took me quite a bit of personal exploration to reach this
conclusion. My original plan was to attend Bridgewater University straight out
of high school for psychology because I had taken AP Psychology and was fascinated by how people think. Then, in a whirlwind of spontaneity, my best
friend and I decided to take a gap year and backpack through Europe for a few
months. This bit of travel was my first introduction to anywhere outside the
United States and made me realize how much I had left to see, leading to my
ever fervent interest in traveling. Thus, I applied to a program called Global
College, a program that allows one to travel while studying for a bachelor’s
degree, through Long Island University and was accepted. However, a few weeks
before I was about to move to Costa Rica, my loans were not approved and I
couldn’t make this program financially feasible. After a second gap year of
working full time and saving money, I moved to Western Massachusetts and began
to attend community college for women’s studies. Not finding the drive I was
looking for, I FINALLY decided to dig
deep down for what truly inspires me, what hobbies I already have that could
create a livelihood, where I could see myself in the future…and duh!
Agriculture!
 |
| Baby Sadie en route to pick cranberries at the bog! |
Growing up,
I was always outdoors. My father was a landscaper and I was always running
around through gardens. I was happiest running through my own vegetable garden
and picking fresh basil to make pesto for my favorite meal, pesto pasta and
garden salad. For my tenth birthday
party, I had all of my friends over to paint rocks to outline my favorite part
of my vegetable garden, and even now, I am happiest with my hands in the dirt.
It seems bizarre that I wouldn’t see this as an immediate choice for study, but
I suppose we are trained to think of more mainstream and high paying careers rather
than creating a career out of a hobby that we love. Since I made this hobby my
educational pursuit, I have enjoyed every moment. I love to nerd out about soil
science, which I have had plenty of opportunities to do during this program, or
simply watch my little seedlings sprout into productive plants. Some of my
happiest evenings are spent in my backyard using fresh vegetables to cook meals
with my friends and eat together under the stars. I have been a little blue
about not being able to create my lovely garden back home this year, but the opportunity
to visit so many beautiful farms and learn more about this lively community has
been incredible.
My other
hobbies include traveling and reading, both of which are also being satisfied
during this program! I brought some books with me and have enjoyed a few
afternoons reading down by the lake, and of course, reading as much literature
as I can about social networks and conservation agriculture. And traveling…well,
who thought I would ever be out here in Wisconsin! Being able to experience
farming in a community far from home has been enlightening, and I hope to bring
back everything that I am learning to the farm I work on back home. My
conversations with farmers have sparked a lot of new thoughts for me, such as
whether or not organic should be the number one priority or if more thought
should be given to practices that focus on soil health (such as using cover
crops but instead of tilling, using no-till and herbicides to allow planting
after the cover crop…such an interesting debate!). This fall, I begin my thesis
at Hampshire College and am definitely interested in a lot of the ideas being
discussed out here. This experience has been a perfect combination of my
personal interests and my studies, and I feel very inspired!
 |
| My farm crew back home with last summer's garlic harvest! |
No comments:
Post a Comment