The summer heat is here and it sure can be uncomfortable to be outside, but sometimes we must buck up and conquer the melting temperatures. Being uncomfortable isn't everyone's cup of tea, and it certainly isn't my favorite way to pass time. However, my experiences within the last week have taught be a thing or two about being in uncomfortable situations.

     This past week I had the wonderful opportunity to attend two different conferences. The first was the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association Agronomy training in Manhattan, Kansas. While in attendance, I learned a boat load of new information including but not limited to herbicide use, weed ID, and corn & sorghum growth and development. While this was an excellent opportunity to gain agronomic knowledge, it was also a bit of an overload for a girl who came in with limited background information in agronomy. 

     As I am an Agriculture Education major, I constantly had to inform those around me at the conference that most of the information was new to me, and "No, I don't have a degree in Agronomy so, sorry, I really don't know the answer." The two days at the KARA agronomy training were jam packed full of great information that definitely assisted in expanding my agronomy knowledge but they also taught me that:

     Upon completion of the KARA conference I jumped in the truck and headed for York, Nebraska to attend the United Suppliers Intern Training round 2! The drive to York seemed forever, but the time spent there definitely flew by!

      While in York, the first day consisted of creating a LinkedIn profile and also additional agronomy training. To end the day United Suppliers hosted a dinner where they invited representatives from Syngenta and Bayer Corporation to speak to the interns. They provided us with great information regarding agricultural career paths and also great life advice!

      On day two of the training we drove to Beaver Crossing to tour the relatively new Bayer facility. While there all of the interns went through a professional training session where we learned tricks to use at future career fairs and also how to make presentations. The tour of the Bayer facility was pretty neat! At this location they mainly are researching wheat but hope to start their research in the bean industry in the near future. 

     After 4 days, 2 conferences, and 456 miles I can say that I am happy to be back in Harveyville, Kansas! Traveling is quite a learning experience especially when it is in addition to two conferences jam packed of information! It is certainly uncomfortable going places where you do not know anyone else, let alone the area. Being uncomfortable in front of a crowd while giving a presentation is common and something that I seem to face frequently. However, these are all great learning opportunities that I experienced on this trip! One can choose to be uncomfortable and let it be a limiting factor, or else they can decide to step out, be unique, and take hold of the experience!

 ~ Life begins at the end of you comfort zone ~