My stint as a farmer

It all starts tomorrow.  I will be interning at Bobolink Dairy and Bakehouse.  I am hoping to be able to try doing a little of everything from milking cows to making bread and cheese to caring for the pigs and working in the pasture.  It is so beautiful on their land and I am looking forward to busy days in such a natural place.  It is such a welcome sight after thinking walking into an artificially lit sea of cubicles would constitute my place of work for the foreseeable future.  

In usual fashion I have apprehensions about the whole thing.  And while I am looking and have applied to paying office jobs, part of me feels guilt for gala anything around a farm for a few months.  Right now I need to be bringing money to be able to build the life I want.  Also, I watched a YouTube video a friend posted on Facebook.  It was titled Why I Hate School But Love Education and the theme was why school? Why exams? Why not just learn?  While I do believe conventional education is pretty antiquated because of all people with their hand in the pot aka the Education Industrial Complex, his conclusion resonated with me.  To paraphrase he said- if you don't work to build your dreams, someone else will hire you to help build theirs.  

This only seemed to support my previous thinking after dealing with the owners of the farm regarding the details of my internship.  The when and how long.  After suggesting 5 days/wk which he scoffed at and said, oh part time I conceded to doing 6 days/wk.  Also, I have a trip planned to visit my sister in Miami in Nov which seemed to be an inconvenience to them as we'll as the fact that I agreed to interning through the end of the year, but we go to FL for Christmas, so I would stop like the 21st.  Oh, she said, well that's when we get busy, but I guess we can swing that.  Like what? I am interning with you and you expect me to be shoveling shit on Christmas morning? It put it all in perspective for me- their intern program is their business model.  I'm building their dream of having this great farm and not have to do all the chores.  

I want to build my own dream(s).  If it was my farm and my family lived on the property with me, you bet I'd be tending the cows before we opened gifts on Christmas Day, after all I totally understand that to farm is to dedicate your life and animals don't stop living on holidays or weekends.  In the meantime, though, as an intern, I want to learn from you, not be free labor.  Here's to growing up and realizing that anyone will take advantage of you if you let them.