Maybe I am an AgNerd

Let’s talk about being an “AgNerd,” shall we?

Part of the reason I finally launched this blog – a much thought about dream of mine – can be traced back to Kansas City in August. I found myself smack dab in the middle of all these amazing social media rock stars/AgNerds who are on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Google+ — all this in addition to writing their own blogs while milking dairy cows, tending to their hogs and getting ready for harvest season by installing iPads in their combines and downloading the latest apps on their smartphones. Oh, and did I mention they have kids and spouses and pets and other responsibilities? I know, pretty darn impressive.

And that’s exactly what I thought, too, as I sat there at the “Agvocacy 2.0 Conference”, put on by the AgChat Foundation, a total grassroots organization with one staff person and many, many passionate and dedicated volunteers-turned-AgNerds (or is it AgNerds-turned-volunteers?). I was – and this is probably going to sound really cheesy but I don’t care! – completely inspired and almost overwhelmed, at times, by who I was meeting and what I was learning. And let me be completely honest here, I really just wanted to be one of these people!

But wait (lightbulb moment coming)! Maybe I am one of these people? Maybe I already am an AgNerd! I’ve got the Facebook accounts and the Twitter handles and YouTube experience (along with the full-time job, family responsibilities, cute pet and all of the other things in life that keep us all busy). But more than that, I, too, have a passion for agriculture and using social media to share stories. The missing piece, for me, was a blog. My own blog. And my new-found friends at AgChat Foundation helped me realize (second lightbulb moment here) that not only is a blog completely doable – it’s also completely possible that people may actually want to read my stuff. (Even if it’s only my family!) And perhaps most importantly, at least for me (third and final lightbulb moment here), I don’t necessarily have to talk about farming and agriculture and raising turkeys all the time. It might even be better if I don’t. I just need to be me – whether that means a recipe one day or a photo of some life-changing super-amazing high heels the next (yes, a new pair of shoes can do that, trust me) or a story about a turkey farmer I know.

I suppose at my age, I should’ve had that all figured it out by now. But sometimes a change of scenery and meeting the right people can put me in a different frame of mind where everything just sort of clicks and makes sense. So, thanks to AgChat Foundation and its annual conference (and apparently the many lightbulb moments that ensued), I am now a blogger – and a self-proclaimed AgNerd. And for a farm girl who has always been a writer, that’s a good thing to be.

Have you ever met people who have inspired you to really reach for one of your dreams?