It's December 29th, just days away from the end of 2019, and I don't feel as though I've properly recapped some of the most important moments of the year since September. Returning to Kansas last week, and being open to what the experience might bring, allowed me to return feeling energized for the future. I am quite excited to share what I've been up to and what's on the docket for 2020!
This fall I was working three jobs. I served as the Action Team lead for the Metro Food Access Network's Transportation Action Team, worked as a Research Assistant for North Circle Seeds through the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota, and maintained my position as Social Media Strategist and Thought Partner with Voices for Rural Resilience. Not only did I expand my network, but I had lots of time to reflect on who I am as a person and how to distinguish my brand as a person from those around me through my participation in the Integrated Food Systems Leadership certificate at the U.
These jobs took me to new places across Minnesota and as far away as South Carolina, and I am truly grateful for the connections that I am continuing to make as a result of those experiences.
In September, I attended the Indigenous Food Expo in Duluth and helped with a seed saving workshop called Seed Saving in a Northern Climate, sponsored by the Sustainable Farming Association's Lake Superior Chapter and North Circle Seeds. Being there gave me a glimpse into the type of lifestyle I'm looking for--wholesome, simple, filled with good food and dancing! It also reminded me of how comfortable I feel being around farmers, and it planted the seed of potentially moving to northern Minnesota post-graduation. If you've never been to the North Shore, I encourage you to put it on your vacation bucket list!
In October, I attended the Rural Women's Summit as part of my job with Voices for Rural Resilience, where I watched the Firestarters give some tear-eliciting speeches. I felt truly humbled to be in the presence of 'one of the greats' and have the privilege to claim that "I'm on Anna's team". It showed me that you have to understand where you're from before you can understand where you're going, and inspired me to reach out to my biological father to learn more about my family history. What resulted was a string of emails and photos about my family's past that I now have saved and can refer to in the future. Getting to see a photo of my biological grandfather in agricultural fields made me realize that I'm actually only one generation removed from farming, which was pretty special. The trip was also an opportunity for me to explore what it feels like to treat yourself. I celebrated my 25th birthday and went out for a cocktail tour of Greenville, where I met some fellow Kansans and and Australian! It was a fabulous few hours and I thoroughly enjoyed the limoncello afterwards.
In December, I made my way back to Duluth, but to attend the Food Justice Summit and help record the Seed Stories podcast. The conversations I had with attendees about the importance of seed saving for food system sustainability was incredibly inspiring, and I'm continuing to find the best way to tell their story with the remaining hours of my RA position. It was a unique experience to attend a conference but not actually attend the sessions. I enjoyed getting to be on the periphery of what was going on, and seeing so many familiar faces, despite having only lived in Minnesota for a year. It was a nice reminder that I've done a lot to put myself out there and get a sense of the state's food systems landscape.
Sprinkled into all of that were two trips to Kansas, a newly formed relationship (*gasp* Dare I say romantic?!) and a full course load, where I met some amazing radical agroecologists and am continuing to meet my IFSL cohort in person. As the semester came to a close and I drove down I-35 to Lawrence once again, I found myself pondering my post-graduation plans and travel goals for the coming year. If nothing else, it has become clear that 2020 must be a year in which I stop spreading myself so thin across a thousand projects and focus on high-value, high ROI activities, whether it's work or volunteer obligations. I am so much more valuable to my community when I take care of myself, and it's a shame it took me until I was twenty-five to realize this fact. At the same time, though, I'm glad I'm having this revelation now instead of when I'm fifty. :)
I'm incredibly excited about what's to come in 2020, much of which I probably could never have imagined or anticipated. Some of these include:
This fall I was working three jobs. I served as the Action Team lead for the Metro Food Access Network's Transportation Action Team, worked as a Research Assistant for North Circle Seeds through the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota, and maintained my position as Social Media Strategist and Thought Partner with Voices for Rural Resilience. Not only did I expand my network, but I had lots of time to reflect on who I am as a person and how to distinguish my brand as a person from those around me through my participation in the Integrated Food Systems Leadership certificate at the U.
These jobs took me to new places across Minnesota and as far away as South Carolina, and I am truly grateful for the connections that I am continuing to make as a result of those experiences.
In September, I attended the Indigenous Food Expo in Duluth and helped with a seed saving workshop called Seed Saving in a Northern Climate, sponsored by the Sustainable Farming Association's Lake Superior Chapter and North Circle Seeds. Being there gave me a glimpse into the type of lifestyle I'm looking for--wholesome, simple, filled with good food and dancing! It also reminded me of how comfortable I feel being around farmers, and it planted the seed of potentially moving to northern Minnesota post-graduation. If you've never been to the North Shore, I encourage you to put it on your vacation bucket list!
In October, I attended the Rural Women's Summit as part of my job with Voices for Rural Resilience, where I watched the Firestarters give some tear-eliciting speeches. I felt truly humbled to be in the presence of 'one of the greats' and have the privilege to claim that "I'm on Anna's team". It showed me that you have to understand where you're from before you can understand where you're going, and inspired me to reach out to my biological father to learn more about my family history. What resulted was a string of emails and photos about my family's past that I now have saved and can refer to in the future. Getting to see a photo of my biological grandfather in agricultural fields made me realize that I'm actually only one generation removed from farming, which was pretty special. The trip was also an opportunity for me to explore what it feels like to treat yourself. I celebrated my 25th birthday and went out for a cocktail tour of Greenville, where I met some fellow Kansans and and Australian! It was a fabulous few hours and I thoroughly enjoyed the limoncello afterwards.
In December, I made my way back to Duluth, but to attend the Food Justice Summit and help record the Seed Stories podcast. The conversations I had with attendees about the importance of seed saving for food system sustainability was incredibly inspiring, and I'm continuing to find the best way to tell their story with the remaining hours of my RA position. It was a unique experience to attend a conference but not actually attend the sessions. I enjoyed getting to be on the periphery of what was going on, and seeing so many familiar faces, despite having only lived in Minnesota for a year. It was a nice reminder that I've done a lot to put myself out there and get a sense of the state's food systems landscape.
Sprinkled into all of that were two trips to Kansas, a newly formed relationship (*gasp* Dare I say romantic?!) and a full course load, where I met some amazing radical agroecologists and am continuing to meet my IFSL cohort in person. As the semester came to a close and I drove down I-35 to Lawrence once again, I found myself pondering my post-graduation plans and travel goals for the coming year. If nothing else, it has become clear that 2020 must be a year in which I stop spreading myself so thin across a thousand projects and focus on high-value, high ROI activities, whether it's work or volunteer obligations. I am so much more valuable to my community when I take care of myself, and it's a shame it took me until I was twenty-five to realize this fact. At the same time, though, I'm glad I'm having this revelation now instead of when I'm fifty. :)
I'm incredibly excited about what's to come in 2020, much of which I probably could never have imagined or anticipated. Some of these include:
- Developing a pilot project with Cycling Without Age that brings together food access and isolation among older adults
- Helping develop a fellowship track with Lead for Minnesota as part of Voices for Rural Resilience
- Graduating with my Masters degree and a graduate certificate DEBT FREE
- Having space to garden at my new apartment
- Planning cool events to support the work of the Seward Neighborhood Group
- Working with Latino farmers in Long Prairie to help them explore regional market opportunities for their produce
- Producing my first ever podcast episode
- Cooking my way through all my new cookbooks and bringing my community along for the ride
- Maintaining a constant thread of gratitude throughout everything I do
- Inspiring others to pursue their dreams, think bigger than ever, and stay true to themselves
In this vein, I thought it would be a good idea to bring attention to the the title of this blog post, which was inspired by a video my dad showed me yesterday from Casey Neistat, a true vlogger inspiration. Watch for yourself!
In 2020, I'm going to try my hardest to do what I can't. :)
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