By: Kailyn Pippin/ August 2025

One thing about me is that I love a good “side quest”! Events or experiences that you go on that are out of your ordinary day to day activities. Now I recently had a top tier side quest, that really changed my mindset.

A couple weeks ago, I went back to help my home FFA Chapter with baling and delivering hay. Now when I arrived I was quickly thrown onto riding the Gator around the field and doing small tasks to help here and there. Before I knew it, I found myself driving the Gator with the trailer to gather the leftover bales in the field. Then, I was throwing bales off of a wagon to be loaded into a customer’s truck. Things were slowing down and I was heading back up to the school, when I got asked the question, “Hey Kailyn, I just called your dad, could you go home and get his truck and haul this hay wagon?” Whoa buddy I was so excited, I was going to drive the big truck and wagon like a real farming pro! So, I went home, got the truck, traveled back to the school and got all hooked up. Just like that I was on my way, but luckily I was not alone. My passenger was my best friend who actually was an experienced farm girl. Down the road we went and things were going great! We were cruising along at a crisp 20 miles per hour and life was great, until it wasnt…Grace looked at me, looked in the mirror, then back at me. “Kailyn, does it look less on my side?” I’m thinking “girl ain’t no stinkin’ way” I look in the mirror, I look at Grace,  I look back in the mirror. “My side looks fine, maybe it just shifted?” Grace told me to pull off on a side street to check it out. At this point I’m still not convinced I lost anything because I am a pro. I whip it into a side street and get ready to back the trailer up to turn around. I put myself in these situations kinda like I can back up a truck. I can back up to a trailer. I can’t back up a truck AND trailer kinda deals…

Embarrassed and stressed we came to a cul de sac and found a point where we were able to turn around and go back the way we came. As we are getting to a bend in the road that’s when we see Grace’s dad loading all 20+ hay bales on a different wagon on the side of the road.  Needless to say, I felt terrible and it kept replaying in my mind that I would never be able to drive the wagon again. After the rush of getting everything back and loaded I had a conversation with Grace’s dad. He was telling me it wasn’t my fault and asked if I wanted to lead or follow him the rest of the way. I was so relieved and excited, I got to continue on the journey and take the hay the rest of the way!

Things are going to happen that are out of our control, but what matters most is how we react and how we help others in those difficult times. If there weren’t people there to help us stack the wagon again, or my friends there to help reassure me to keep going, the job wouldn’t have gotten done.  I encourage each of you to be that person to help in times of need and to keep your head up when things get tough. Look at the situation and take the lesson from it and keep moving forward! 

All the love, 

Kailyn Pippin

2025-2026 Delaware FFA State President