If I could explain one thing to one person...

I would explain something that I am pretty knowledgeable in. It's a random thing to know a lot about, but for 12 years of my life, I participated in 4-H. The person who I would describe my experience to would be my future kids. Participating in 4-H was one of the best experiences of my life. I have vivid memories of every summer when my family and I would camp at the Grant County fair grounds so that my siblings at I could show our animals. When I was in grades K-2, I could not show big animals because kids that young are not allowed, so I showed a rabbit. Then when I was in 3rd grade, I was allowed to start showing big animals. For my family that animal was sheep. From the time I started showing sheep, my parents went out and bought 3 ewes and 1 ram so that we could breed and raise our own lambs for fair. Raising my lambs myself was a great experience because I did not have to go out and spend 100-150$ per lamb. Plus, I was able to see little baby lambs run around and be crazy. Because we raised our own sheep, I became knowledgeable in delivering babies, docking their tails, tagging their ears, and giving them their shots. Raising sheep for fair is a lot of work because you have to train the sheep to be obedient and willing to be set up and prodded by the judge at fair. Every night, I would have to walk my sheep half a mile to get exercise and turn its fat into muscle, and then I would have to practice leading it around and setting it up as if my mom was the judge at fair. The worst part was getting the sheep comfortable being touched and grabbed by a judge. You have to  position yourself just right in order to keep the sheep from jumping and trying to run away. It was a lot of work, but it was necessary because when it came time for fair, you were in the ring with 15 other kids and their sheep. Some sheep were as well trained as a dog (I could never get mine to be like that) and it put a lot of pressure on you to get your sheep to cooperate.

I will one day talk to my kids about this experience because I want them to do fair. It was my first real experience of how hard work is necessary and will pay off.