The Importance of Being You
By Rosemarie
Thinking about what makes me powered and poised while being raised and working in the agricultural industry has been challenging to say the least. I wear many different hats while helping my family run eight businesses, and no two days are the same. At the end of the day when I look at our ventures, it all comes down to the ladies and the land - it’s what makes all of our companies tick. When I refer to the ladies, I’m talking about the dairy cows we milk on our farm. The dairy cows our nutrition clients hire us to help manage their diets, every day we are empowering them and they are the most poised animals I have ever seen. We empower them by taking care of them, helping them be comfortable, not stressed, supporting them as they reach the genetic potential they were born to have and living a healthy productive life. By doing this, they make a natural nutritionally dense product that no other fruit or vegetable can come close to, at least that I know of.
My love for cows started when I was very young. My father was a dairy nutritionist and helped my grandfather in Honduras. His number one priority while my siblings and I were growing up was to provide for our family. Being raised in Honduras and having the bare necessities, it was important to make sure our family had more than he had. I watched him work tirelessly, and still do, trying to provide even though we are all grown. That required lots of driving, lots of traveling and lots of time away from the family. Dairy farms aren’t usually located in easily accessible towns. I learned at a very young age that if I wanted more time with my dad, I would have to hop in the truck and go with him, so I did.
Along those drives, I learned what work ethic was, the dairies we visited would be a priority that would come before us, and the families behind those dairies would be depending on him to help them succeed. I would see women helping their husbands on the farm, while they raised their children and I would meet the only dairy farmer that was a woman at the time. I can recall thinking what a boss she was and still is, she was inspiring from the start, authentic, genuine, and she certainly wasn’t going to take crap from anyone.
Working in an industry that has been primarily male was not something I thought about growing up. I didn’t realize I would be different, I didn’t consider myself different. It was second nature to me to assume I belonged, there was a spot for me at the table, and no one would think any differently. I operated at this level of thinking most of my life. I thought this way because of how my parents raised me, they never let me think of myself as less, not belonging, better, worse, or different than anyone in any way. It was often repeated to me that the only thing getting in my way of being better was….myself.
I turned 37 this year, and that truth has struck a deep chord in my soul over the past five years. I’m sure people will try to call me out on that, because by 27 I had graduated with my PhD and had other accomplishments that would appear obstacles weren’t a problem for me. I may have accomplished plenty but the internal dialogue I had was very self doubting and questioning everything. The last five years have been eye-opening because the “water can run out.” When you’re a child or young adult, your parents assurance is important and one you may consider the most influential. Once you’re an adult, a mom, a wife, and in the middle of your career, it’s not…no one can reassure you but yourself. Don’t get me wrong, your parents will try to and if you have a partner they will as well, but ultimately you must teach yourself to be strong for you.
Getting to know who I am, how I function in health or stress, what I am motivated by, what my fears are, and genuinely who I want to be in all my roles of life, has been the biggest blessing and knowledge I could have given myself and wish I had done when I was much younger. I feel more empowered today than I ever have. The self confidence, learning to own all my imperfections (physically and emotionally) has made me as poised as I will ever be. Be your own best friend, love yourself, give yourself grace and most importantly learn who you are, so you can be even better. To me being em,powered and poised is being YOURSELF and being able to OWN all your strengths and weaknesses - once you own these, you can manage them and be the best version of yourself possible.
