Coming to you from a corn field in the Middle of Nowhere Nebraska.

During the summer months of July and some of August, you can normally find me in a corn field in the Middle of Nowhere Nebraska.

I detassle. That's my summer job.
For all of you non-Nebraskans who DON'T know what that is... detassling is basically where you wake up REALLY early (for me.. 4:15 A.M.) and drive to a church and get on a bus with a bunch of other sleepy teenagers. The bus takes you out to a corn field where you will proceed to walk up and down the endless rows of corn pulling out the tassels and dropping them on the ground. You do this job next to tons of other kids who are crazy enough to come back into the corn year after year. Crazy. But awesome.

WELL. Today I woke up at 4:15 and dragged myself out of bed. I filled my water jug and grabbed my gear and jumped in my car and drove to a church. I got into a bus with a bunch of other sleepy kids and dropped my gear on a seat near the middle of the bus. And like most days, after about an hour of driving, we arrived at our first field.

The only difference about this day? I wasn't detassling.

I went roguing.

Today was the very first day I had ever rogued before.

When we got off the bus, we were handed sharpened spades and told to go into the field and slice through the stalks of the rogue corn. They weren't supposed to be there and they needed to be cut down. In some of the rows, there weren't very many stalks of rogue corn. Rogue corn is different from all the rest. They stand taller and look a lot weirder. They really ruin the whole look of the field.

I set my jug of water down and started walking down my panel. Like I said, there weren't many rogue plants.. but when there were, I would hold my spade, take aim, and slice through the bottom of the stalk and that rogue corn would come crashing down.

Contrary to detassling, where you're typically walking close enough to a friend with whom you can converse, people are farther apart when roguing. Which, I think, makes it difficult to talk to anyone and carry on a good conversation. Normally that makes the work and long walks up and down the fields pretty boring. However, I took it as my alone time to think about life.
NOW... This may seem weird to non detasslers/roguers... SO bear with me!

*****

When we were on our third and final field of the day, I decided that life is like roguing a corn field.
That may sound kind of silly... but here's how I figure it makes sense..
Life is the corn field.
The many stalks of corn represent the different parts of life. There are lots and lots of good things and parts of life. Mostly everything is good. Kind of like all of the good stalks of corn.
But sometimes, there are some ugly things in our lives. Bad habits, demons, struggles, etc. They really mess life up. These bad things are like the rogue stalks of corn.
Those bad things shouldn't be there. We don't want them to be there. They need to be removed so that only the good and clean things remain.
So what do we do? We get rid of the bad. Very much like we get rid of the rogue corn.
When we are digging out the rogue corn, it's important that we remember to cut it at the very bottom. We don't want to just cut the stalk halfway because then it'll still be there and possibly sprout and spread or come back. We're told to cut it right at the bottom near the roots, making sure it comes out completely.
The same can be said for our bad habits and such. We have to be sure to get rid of the root problems and dig down deep to find those. Because if we don't get rid of the real problem, then it's very possible that those same habits and bad things will just grow right back inside of us.
So like cutting down a rogue corn stalk, we need to cut down on the bad things in life.
Once we do that, only the good will remain. Our life will be clean and put together and fruitful.

*****

I paused to lift up my misquote net and wipe away the sweat that had been dripping down my face. Looking down the row, I saw that the bus wasn't too terribly far away. I was almost done with my first round on that particular field. It looked like I was going to be the second one out of the field. I turned back to the stalk of rouge corn. I wielded (yes. i really did wield it.) the spade like a weapon and with one swift movement, I sliced through that ugly piece of corn with a clean cut, and it fell flat on the ground.

I liked my one day of roguing. I think I'll also like cutting down the rogue stalks in my life.

So. All of you out there with your own rogue stalks... to you I would suggest grabbing your hat, net, glasses, gloves, and spade. Get out there and start working in the field of your life.

*****

P.S. this may have all seemed so random and weird and corn obsessive... but when you spend your summer surrounded by corn.. it's kinda hard not to use it in examples. XD 
P.P.S also.. to all you roguers out there.. wield that spade like a weapon at least once before you cut a stalk down (without hitting anyone) .. it'll make you feel like an awesome roguing warrior. true story.