Familial criticism.

That was an irksome dinner. I was dining with my grandfather and discussing the summer program which I'll be attending at Sterling. He kept shrugging and rolling his eyes, as if to suggest that I was presenting a paper on neurology in Aramaic. I told him that agriculture is still something that I want to pursue. The look of discontent and disapproval was stunning. I made a comment about the stigmatization of agriculture, and how some don't view it as a respectable career. He told me that in comparison to science or psychology, he doesn't see farming as a respectable career. I am truly irked by such hateful behavior. I'm not asking him to start planting seeds, or pull up a three-legged stool and milk a cow. I'm simply asking for respect, which I guess is such a hard thing to ask for. Because, of course, we no longer have a need for farmers, ever since the iFood App was created for the iPhone. Or maybe if enough people play online farming games, all our food woes will be solved.

Accepted

Today, I received the news that I was accepted to the summer program at Sterling College. I'll be attending a five week program, in which I will study sustainable agriculture. In addition to learning about sustainable agriculture, I'll learn more about Sterling College, and this will help me get a better understanding of whether or not I'll matriculate to Sterling. Sterling College is a small, environmentally-focused college, in Vermont. Here's an excerpt from the website describing the program. "At the end of the summer, students will have: • Worked a full season with vegetable production, livestock, and draft horses • Managed a contract with the dining hall • Seeded, planted, weeded, harvested over 40 different types of crops • Handled sheep, chickens, turkeys, pigs, goats, cows, horses • Farmed and logged with draft horses • Operated a tractor cultivating fields • Created and executed a Personal Learning Plan (PLP) • Baked bread in a traditional wood-fired oven • Visited several VT farms learning from those farmers who have been doing it for a long time • Managed a Passive Solar Hoophouse to learn season extension and growing food year round in a cold climate • Learned the principles of root storage in traditional root cellars • Engaged in food preservation – canning, freezing, drying, etc • Employed the principles of permaculture through the management of an Edible Forest Garden." This sounds like the perfect summer program for me. I feel that this is a fantastic program, and one which I'll enjoy attending this summer. After doing this summer program, I'll make a decision regarding whether or not I'll attend Sterling full time, and if so, when I'd start. http://www.sterlingcollege.edu/summer-ag.html

You are headed in the right direction. Trust your instincts.

At a Chinese restaurant this evening, I got this fortune, "You are headed in the right direction. Trust your instincts." Normally, I wouldn't think very much about a random slip of paper, in a random cookie from a random box, however this one resonated with me. For the past few weeks, I've been pondering my desire to do agriculture. My instinct has been saying "yes, I want to farm." I may have had some doubts in the recent past, but they've resolved. This is not to say that I don't have any other interests. I do, but I feel that agriculture is what I want to pursue, for it's what will allow me to change the current state of affairs in this country for the better. This summer, I'll do a program that will allow for agricultural learning. My goal is still to major in Sustainable agriculture.