Life experience in the farm
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Life is all about the choices we make. Some better than others. However, these choices define the course or paths we take in life and they are to a larger extent determined by several factors including our past history and the environments we have set foot on along the way. Growing up in a farm in a small town in the countryside in a family of four; two boys and two girls everything revolved around the farm and the farm work.
Farm life was characterized by wonderful scenes of green nature; trees, grass, crops and wonderful animals. The joyous noises of dogs barking, cows mooing, birds chirping, chicken clucking and machineries being operated within the farm never stole away the unexplainable deep peace and serenity felt all through as we inhaled the fresh air and enjoyed the green grass under our bare feet. It was a beehive of activities, from the rising to the setting of the sun. The farm work meant that there was always one thing or the other to be attended to from feeding the animals, tilling the land, harvesting crops, storing the harvest, market visits, vet visits, clearing and cleaning the compound to picking fruits and so much more. Growing up in the farm as a child was all fun and games, running around freely without a care in the world, seeing the cows bring forth new life, eggs hatching, a seed planted growing into a beautiful crop that would later be harvested and cooked for dinner. The experiences were tremendously mind blowing for any small child. There was always something to learn and experience, never a dull moment. We gained a lot of respect for nature and how nature works, a deep appreciation for hard work and diligence as we saw the time and effort everyone involved put into getting everything to work in harmony.
Looking back it seems that farm life played a great influence and a crucial role in the person I have become today. Hard work is one of the wonderful values learnt from the experiences in the farm as it requires a certain degree of selfless sacrifices of both mental and physical energy plus time for one to manage a farm successfully. Our parents worked tirelessly in ensuring that the farm brought in profits for its sustainability and overall growth. The value of hard work has been ingrained in my life and it makes me endeavor to achieve success in every aspect of my life.
The other valuable lesson learnt from experiences witnessed in the farm is appreciation for nature. Nature is unforgiving, some of the current disasters being experienced around the globe are as a result of change in the climatic conditions, popularly known as climate change. Trees and green life supply us with oxygen, therefore as dependents of oxygen for survival we need to ensure there’s enough supply of oxygen worldwide. However, due to deforestation through illegal logging and other environmental unfriendly activities including our carbon foot print being so high we risk the wrath of this so unforgiving nature. My environmental consciousness comes from the life in the farm, tending to plants and crops by watering them and feeding them with organic materials helps the plants to grow healthy and productive. It is with this same tender care we should apply to our environment by ensuring we dispose of waste matter appropriately, plant more trees and being mindful of or actions towards the environment we may just be able to salvage back a little of what has been lost.
Everything in the farm is all about planning, from when to plant, which seeds are of superior performance, to when the animals are served by the vet during breeding to harvesting and storage.
Proper planning is at the heart of every good farm owner or farm manager. This planning is also influenced by factors like, when the rain will fall or when the snow will fall, therefore a farmer needs to be abreast of all things happening around the farm, weather patterns and any other necessary changes that will affect their activities. Seeing our father work on schedules and plans for everything in the farm has taught me a great value in planning my activities and my life in general. Planning brings along organization of activities and prioritization of the same, therefore achieving order in life, work, school, sports and social activities.
Much as it is fun and adventurous living in the farm, it often times does tend to get a tad bit cyclic. Once you’ve experienced the life it does get boring seeing the same things over and over again. The planting seasons are the same as well as the harvesting seasons, milking a cow is the same process, the point is, once you have seen and experienced farm life it does make one want to experience something else totally different. City life on the other hand is always buzzing with new exciting experiences. From dining out, to going to the park or the mall. I never saw myself living in the farm for the rest of my life because experiencing life in different forms and ways is a more exhilarating outlook.
Solitude is another way of describing life in the farm, yes one does interact with nature and enjoy the company of fellow family members and farm workers but since leaving the farm is really rare the chances of meeting and making new friends are very thin, unlike in the city where a yoga session can lead to new friendships being created.
Social activities are few and rare another downside of life in the farm and therefore as a social being myself I would want to experience life, meet new people from different cultures and backgrounds and learn a thing or two from them. Travel the world and learn as well as experiencing new things.
Teamwork is another invaluable lesson I have learnt, one such experience was witnessing the farm workers coordinate their activities. The success of any organization requires the coordination of all activities from each individual. The fact that the common goal is the achievement of the smaller targets by each team player building onto the greater and main goal. Seeing how all things come together due to the efforts of every individual working together and in harmony as a team is a wonderful thing.
Shoving up cow, chicken, pig, goat poop is no fun, another downside to farm life. Getting down to the dirty work is not everyone’s cup of tea.
In conclusion, my experiences in the farm have had its fair share of lessons and experiences which continue to greatly impact the character of the person I am today. Great lessons learnt continue to greatly influence the choices I make in life as an individual. Respect for nature, appreciation of animal rights, choice for organic foods over others are all results of these experience. Looking forward however, I believe the life in the farm would be ideal for retirement days, to enjoy the nature, fresh air, sunrise and sunsets without the demands for the management of a farm. At this current stage in life the city life sounds more ideal. It is full of excitement, learning and seeing new things each day bringing forth new challenges to overcome while at the same time new lessons, friendships, experiences and memories are created.
