Clarke Central High School FFA President Jordan Butler waters plants in the CCHS greenhouse on Jan 9. Participating in FFA has helped Butler find her purpose, and she enjoys all the duties that come with being in the program. “FFA is my safe place. It’s somewhere where I can go get happy and just be me,” Butler said. Photo by Zoe Peterson
The ODYSSEY Media Group will provide viewers with stylized profiles that center on people in the Athens community telling their own stories.
Clarke Central High School FFA President Jordan Butler, a junior, shares her struggles with anxiety and the program that’s helped her overcome them.
On the first day of her sophomore year, Clarke Central High School FFA President Jordan Butler, currently a junior, sat in her Physical Conditioning class and immediately felt out of place — a feeling that was all too familiar throughout her youth.
She previously played soccer, ran cross country and played the violin in orchestra. She constantly found herself in last place, with no motivation to improve and no confidence to try.
She tapped her foot, picked at her fingernails and fiddled with her hair while she uncomfortably sat in her Physical Conditioning class. Behind her beaming smile was a mountain of nerves and insecurities. The more she ignored them, the bigger they grew. Her anxiety would consume her thoughts, making it difficult to be focused, driven or happy.
It wouldn’t be until she switched out of Physical Conditioning and happened to be placed in a Basic Agriculture Science/Tech class that she’d find a comfortable place within the school.
Butler soon became invested in both the agriculture class and the FFA program, and as one of the founding members, she has helped shape the program into what it is today. Within a year, she was named president of the program, and she has since made efforts to increase student participation and advocate for CCHS’ FFA involvement in state and national conferences.
“I am the seed planted in this program that is going to bloom into a flower,” Butler said.
As Butler’s passion for agriculture grew, her anxiety faded. When she is in FFA, the mountain of nerves and insecurities which once consumed her is no bigger than an anthill.
If one looks closely, they still may notice Butler steadily tapping her foot as she enthusiastically gives composting tips.
Tap, tap, tap.
Butler’s anxiety hasn’t vanished, but FFA has given her an outlet to express herself and a community of people who support and encourage her.
“Within my passions, I’ve found a place I can call home,” Butler said.
