Houston Stock Show Essay

At an early age, I began preparing for the Houston Livestock Show, being that I am 5 years younger than my brother and I followed in his footsteps. I loved being in the barn with him and my parents, I would practice driving my hog just like my brother did. He is, and has always been, my biggest critic. Over time, I participated in clinics to learn how to show my hog to the best of my ability. I also participated in honorary shows before I was old enough to actually show in the county show and major livestock shows. Through the years I have learned how to care for the best species in the Houston Livestock Show, hogs. Learning how to feed and care for my hogs was a process; I had to learn when to feed them, what to feed them, and how much; and if they
became sick, what to medicate them with. I truly believe, you get out what you put in. This means that even those dreadful early mornings and late evenings are a part of the journey.
I have even hauled warm water in buckets from my house to the barn yards away, when the water in the barn had been frozen. Learning responsibility at a young age puts me on a different level than regular teenagers. In the showbiz the hogs come first, no matter how awful I feel or if I have other plans. Not every kid comes straight home from school and goes to a smelly pig barn, but it's been apart of my daily life for nine years. Through stock shows, like my alltime favorite the HLSR, I have earned how to stay dedicated to something I love. The Houston Livestock Show is the largest major show that I have been able to participate in. As our county’s FFA and 4H students arrive to the stock show we begin competing with teamwork. What I mean by this is, we all want to do the best we can showing our animal, but we also want our team members to do their best as well. As the saying goes, “it takes a village.” Well, it takes all of us to prepare for our own time in the show ring. We build our pens, divide them, and put up our show racks and the equipment that we will need to keep our hogs in the best shape we can until we show
them. When we travel, we are family; we often carpool and share trailers on the way to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, since it's a whopping 7 hours away. When we are in Houston we are inseparable, we work as a team constantly and are willing to do anything for our teammates. Being able to participate at the Houston Livestock Show and rodeo for the past nine years has been such a blessing to me and my family. Every time I go, as I explained above, I always learn something new. Some of the most important lessons I have learned from showing at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo have nothing to do with my hogs. For many years of showing in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo I only thought about getting the big blue ribbon, which is a good goal to strive for. Although, it wasn’t until the last couple of years that I truly understood the meaning behind showing. Attending the Houston Livestock Show has taught me how to learn, how to be a teammate, and how to strive for my goals. Now that I am graduating and will not be able to participate anymore I had to set a new goal; which, is graduating from college. I have decided to major in education, and I believe that is because of how much I have learned throughout the years of participating at the Houston Livestock Show. Learning is the key to life, and I want to be a part of why someone succeeds; just like the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has be a factor of my success. Thank you Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for being such a positive and major role in my life, I am eternally grateful.