Farm Friday: From Farm to School, a Guest Post

I have a guest post for you today from Julie Ellis.  Julie has written a post on the advantages of being a farm kid when it comes time to fly off to college.  Take it away, Julie!

From Farm to School 

Going to college is a big step for anyone. But if, like me, you grew up on a farm in a rural area, you may have worries about “fitting in” with lots of kids from urban and suburban neighborhoods – after all, their lifestyles have been way different from yours. What could you possibly have in common? These were my worries too, but I’m here to say that what I learned on the farm was the perfect prep for living and studying with others:

1. Everyone has to do his/her part for the “family” to be successful. Dormitory living is a bit cramped, to say the least. No one is going to pick up after you, and no one is going to like it if you don’t do your share to keep the bathrooms clean. This I learned from the age of 5, while some dorm residents are just now learning! 
2. You have to be independent and able to learn things on your own. Nothing promotes these skills more than being a part of a farm family and totally relying on yourselves for your entire livelihood. In college, the expectation is that you are completely self-reliant in your learning and your living, and I have been able to teach some peers a thing or two about that!
3. You have to be a problem-solver. Crises on farms, big and small, occur all the time. When a car breaks down, you can’t call a cab; when you have a late spring freeze, you don’t just lose your garden bedding plants – your entire crop is at risk! In college, crises occur too – big and small. You don’t always get the classes you want; you forgot a paper that is due; you’re out of money and still have a week left to go. If you’ve learned to “roll with the punches” of farm life, you get through these crises easily.
4. You know how to be by yourself. Lots of kids with urban backgrounds live hectic busy lives with people around all of the time. College life is a lot like that, and it’s fun, but there are also times when you need to be by yourself to reflect and to deal with you own issues. My life on the farm prepared me well for these times, and I am grateful.

Do I absolutely love college? Yes. Have I made friends from all sorts of backgrounds? Yes. Was I prepared academically and socially? Yes, and Yes!

Author’s bio:  Julie Ellis believes that, only through experiential knowledge does one become an engaging and creative writer. Her degree in Journalism and a host of real-world study and experience has made her a permanent and popular blogger for PremierEssay.net.