the thankful project: an experience

Have you heard of The Thankful Project yet? If not, you should jump on over to Chasing Happy and read a little more about it. Such a great concept for this type of year. While I missed the first three days and probably won't be doing the full month, I will be blogging about a few topics along the way. 

November 4: An Experience

In July 2007, I was blessed with an opportunity that I had dreamed about since I was a little girl. You see, I grew up in a small (like 350 people small) midwest-farming town and the biggest event of the summer was our county fair. The whole county basically shuts down and everyone you know spends the week at the fair. Still to this day, it is one of my most favorite times of year. And for my family, it is something that we all are a part of. We all spend the week together and it's just so great.

And ever since I was a little girl, I had always dreamed about being the fair queen. As silly as it may sound, it was a big deal to me. In the summer of 2007, that dream became a reality. It was my third attempt, which is more times than most people compete. Honestly, it took a lot of courage for me to run that third year. Most people stop after two years, but I knew that I wanted to try one last time and if I didn't, I would have always regretted it. Thankfully, that persistence paid off.

It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I got the opportunity to meet a lot of people, travel to new places and do a lot of fun things. It really was a dream come true for me. It was a time where I could represent something I loved and believe in. But more than that, it was a time in my life where I learned about God's timing and perfect plan for our lives. I learned more about patience and letting go of a situation than I ever meant to. That summer was one that could have been filled with a lot of pain and struggle for myself and some family due to different situations going on, but instead it was one filled with new experiences and celebration.

So while being the fair queen was filled with fun events, dressing up and other wonderfulness; it was also a time in my life when I saw God work in a very real way. Plus, I learned a whole lot about interviewing, public speaking and public relations (which was my major so that helped, too). All of those things together made for an experience that shaped me then and still does today.