By Jessica Domel

As thousands of Texas school children head back to their classrooms, I can’t help but think about this wonderful crop our nation is growing. Our students today are our future tomorrow.

Like the seeds we plant for corn, cotton, sorghum and more, children must be nurtured properly in order to grow and succeed.

Each crop, and child, needs something different to excel.

As parents, educators and loved ones, it’s our job to help the children find what’s right for them. They need a good environment, healthy foods and steady encouragement along the way.

Not all conditions are ideal. Sometimes there’s storms. But, like farmers, we must do all we can to help our future crop grow.

We pray. We help our neighbors. And we do what we can when we can.

Sometimes we have to give a crop a little boost. Sometimes we have to try something different in order to succeed.

There’s no one recipe for success. What works for me may not work for you.

And in the end, sometimes it’s up to the child, and the plant, to push through on their own.

There’s so many variables in life and in farming. But one thing is for sure, hard work pays off.

After all, at the end of a growing cycle when harvest finally rolls around, isn’t it nice to see the product of a season’s work?

Here’s wishing you a happy and fruitful school year, Texas!