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Farm Girl

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“Farm Girl”
Jessica Hemauer

Ramirez

Instructor:
Professor Parker C.

July 19, 2012 In the essay, “Farm Girl”, by Jessica Hemauer, Jessica shares her intimate thoughts and feelings about how she felt growing up on her families' farm. As a child, she takes you through her and her sibling early morning routine to ensure the reader is able to put themselves in their shoes. She shares how difficult and frustrating those days were as a child, but in the end she realizes how those long hard days on the farm have help her develop a strong work ethic, excellent time management skills and responsibility that is sought out in today's society. In her memoirs, she described a typical morning waking up with heavy eyes, still struggling to sleep, thinking to herself “A typical ten-year-old child does not have to wake up at five in the morning to do chores.” (Hemauer) She and her sibling have the morning routine down pat to include two hours of chores before school, and more chores after school. During school, Jessica expressed what she thought if anyone knew she was a farm girl that she would be seen as different. As her friend would discuss after school activities at lunch Jessica became depress and felt alienated. As she was about to enter the eighth grade she really want to play basketball, and after begging and pleading with her parents, they allowed her to participate on the team as long as she still helped with her chores before school and after practice. However, Jessica's and her siblings' hard work was paying off with huge dividends for her families farm, as her families farm was growing her father decided to allow his children to focus on school and social activities while he hired out farm help. This is when Jessica truly blossomed. Becoming more involved in after school activities and feeling more comfortable with her friends, although never comfortable enough to tell her private school friends that she was a "farm girl". Jessica noted, "During all these activities, I always notice that I stick out from the group. In school, people come up to me and ask how I manage my time so well, without getting stressed out. When I’m with a group of my friends, I always seem to be more mature than they are, leading the group while others try to follow in my footsteps. When it comes to my job, I am always on time, never calling in sick, and never complaining about a task I have been asked to do." (Hemauer) Then Jessica finally has the revelation that her strong work ethic, ability to manage time and strength to get thing done are all related to her rigorous upbringing on the farm. She stated "the work that I had to do on the farm was far from glamorous. I have done some of the worst jobs conceivable, so I have a higher tolerance for work than most people." At work, her boss compliments her by asking her “where he can find other hard-working people” and knowing what inspires her to work hard, Jessica replies “Try hiring some farm girls. I heard they turn out pretty good” (Hemauer). This story is so familiar to me as I too grew up on a farm, Jessica sums up her experience in the sentence ”Though I hated it growing up, working on the farm has taught me many lessons about life, and it has shaped me into the individual I am today.” (Hemauer) Jessica's childhood experiences although seemed painful to her at that time in her life, are exactly what defines her now. She is poised, confident, and well balanced. Her story is motivating, her honesty is refreshing, this kind of story everyone can appreciate, I think in the end she was trying to tell the world. You do not have to be like everyone else to fit in, just be you. In addition, to be cliché "a little hard work never killed anybody." Jessica was initially depressed and desperate for something different in her life. Later, she realizes the valuable lessons that the farm provided for her and her siblings. She was thankful and no longer afraid to tell the world I was a farm girl growing up.
References:
Hemauer, Jessica.(2011) Farm Girl. The McGraw-Hill Guide. Writing for College, Writing for Life. (Pg83-87)

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