April 22, 2012 In the essay, “Farm Girl”, Jessica Hemauer writes about her experiences growing up on a working farm and the positive outcome it had on her life. She shares how difficult and sometimes hated the farm life was as a child and how the difficulties and responsibilities helped her evolve into a stronger, better person. “A typical ten-year-old child does not have to wake up at five in the morning to do chores.” (Hemauer) Jessica thinks this upon waking in the morning. She has hours of chores to do every day before and after school. Until eighth grade she could not participate in any school activities or sports. She felt left out and alienated when her peers discussed activities that they were involved in. Wanting to fit in so much, Jessica never told anyone she lived on a farm so she would not be seen as different. She always had enormous responsibilities and had to learn to manage her time effectively. Starting with the calves that she loved to feed, her life was filled with many responsibilities. Her chores being completed every day were her obligation and she found a way to complete that and her school work early on in life. Later, school officials were in awe over how she accomplished so much and in a timely fashion, without stress (Hemauer). While growing up Jessica tried to fit in with her peers. She did not want to be seen as different. When she joined the basketball team, she started to feel more included. In high school she joined more activities and participated more. Despite all that she had done to blend in, the author realized that she stood out among her classmates. She was always the leader while everyone tried to keep up. Her friends seemed immature around her. Jessica developed a strong work ethic due to the hard, sometimes disgusting chores she did on the farm. She learned not to complain about work as it won’t change what needs to be done. Her boss compliments her by asking her “where he can find other
References: Hemauer,J.(2011) Farm Girl. The McGraw-Hill Guide. Writing for College, Writing for Life.