Mental health has been a problem for me for quite a while it all started when a deadly virus spreaded rapidly around the globe and everyone was locked in their houses quarantining as if the plague had came back. Being locked in my house for 2 years was not too bad at first I was out of school for 2 weeks then that 2 weeks turned into months then years. The first few months I just relaxed and enjoyed my super long break. That changed when I couldn't see my friends my family. This slowly but surely made me depressed but I did not know what being depressed was all I thought was I was just super tired all the time. I started to lay in bed all day only getting out to use the bathroom or get something to eat or drink, Notice how I didn't say shower yeah I didn't shower for weeks at a time I'm not very proud of this but it's the truth and sometimes the truth isn't always the prettiest. I was living in my own filth for months, at this point my family started to notice that I was always in the bed and becoming more and more detached. I woudn't leave the house not even to ride my horses and I love my horses it was the most important aspect of my life now I didn't acknowledge they existed. My room looked like a landfill I couldn't see my floor for almost a year. This time was the lowest point of my life and I contemplated self harm or even suicide. I felt like I was worthless everytime I looked in the mirror I would hate myself even more this continued for months. Then quarantine was lifted and the public restrictions were lessened at one point I went into Walmart and I lost sight of my grandpa for 5 minutes an this triggered the first panic/anxiety attack I started bawling my eyes out until I found him I was running around the store like a maniac. Where I had been away from the public for so long I had developed social anxiety which was a major struggle when school was able to be back in session. I was now a freshman in highschool and I was so extremely scared I would start having panic attacks at school. Crying in class soaking the face mask that was supposed to protect us from this deadly virus that we didn't have a cure for. This continued for a while till my mom took me to a doctor and had them give me medicine for anxiety and it helped. Now I am in a place where I am okay mentally and I want to put the past behind me. I want to go to college and work for my future to be where I don't ever have to go back to the place I as a few years ago.

Mental health has been a problem for me for quite a while it all started when a deadly virus spreaded rapidly around the globe and everyone was locked in their houses quarantining as if the plague had came back. Being locked in my house for 2 years was not too bad at first I was out of school for 2 weeks then that 2 weeks turned into months then years. The first few months I just relaxed and enjoyed my super long break. That changed when I couldn't see my friends my family. This slowly but surely made me depressed but I did not know what being depressed was all I thought was I was just super tired all the time. I started to lay in bed all day only getting out to use the bathroom or get something to eat or drink, Notice how I didn't say shower yeah I didn't shower for weeks at a time I'm not very proud of this but it's the truth and sometimes the truth isn't always the prettiest. I was living in my own filth for months, at this point my family started to notice that I was always in the bed and becoming more and more detached. I woudn't leave the house not even to ride my horses and I love my horses it was the most important aspect of my life now I didn't acknowledge they existed. My room looked like a landfill I couldn't see my floor for almost a year. This time was the lowest point of my life and I contemplated self harm or even suicide. I felt like I was worthless everytime I looked in the mirror I would hate myself even more this continued for months. Then quarantine was lifted and the public restrictions were lessened at one point I went into Walmart and I lost sight of my grandpa for 5 minutes an this triggered the first panic/anxiety attack I started bawling my eyes out until I found him I was running around the store like a maniac. Where I had been away from the public for so long I had developed social anxiety which was a major struggle when school was able to be back in session. I was now a freshman in highschool and I was so extremely scared I would start having panic attacks at school. Crying in class soaking the face mask that was supposed to protect us from this deadly virus that we didn't have a cure for. This continued for a while till my mom took me to a doctor and had them give me medicine for anxiety and it helped. Now I am in a place where I am okay mentally and I want to put the past behind me. I want to go to college and work for my future to be where I don't ever have to go back to the place I as a few years ago.

My favorite outdoor experience? That is probably the hardest question for me to answer. Whether it is me riding my horses, giving horse back riding lessons or participating in horse shows. Everything that includes my horses is my favorite outdoor experiences. It does not matter to me if I just go on a trail ride at Yatesville lake or ride bare back in my front yard. Every experience outside with my horses make me so happy its as if I do not have a worry in the world, all my fears melt away when a hop on the back of my horses. Even when I hit the ground I hop right back on to try again because the harder I fall off the more I want to get back on and work harder to stay on. When I give horseback riding lessons I feel like I have a purpose like all the years that I put into perfecting my riding has paid off. The best feeling is when my students start doing things on their own like saddling up the horse or putting the bridle on. It just makes me feel like I have done something right, because I am spreading the love for my favorite outdoor activity to younger kids. The passion I show for my love for horses will hopefully rub off on my students then eventually they will share their love for horse back riding. When I am in a horse show all of my years of experience goes out the window I feel as if it is my first ever show and I have knots in my stomach, but all that melts away when I ride into the arena. The anxiety and fear I just scrambles out of my brain as I think of my technique and posture I keep a huge smile on my face as I watch the judge even if I mess up I keep going with the smile like it did not affect me even if it does. Well that is when I am riding in rail classes but when it comes to speed events the nerves are continuous until I un through that timer coming home from the end of the barrel pattern or pole bending. This sport is one of the most important aspect of my life. I have been doing this for a little over 10 year and I don't want to see this important part of my life disappear, because people are not interested in it. I want to try and keep as many people interested in it as I can.

Since a young age, I have always felt a deep connection to animals. Whether it was helping a hurt fawn or taking in a stray cat, I knew that caring for animals was not just something I enjoyed it was my passion in life and I want to do for the rest of my life. When I turned 7 years old I got my first horse and I was immediately hooked and knew this was something I would do for a very long time. Knowing nothing about caring for horses I turned to my fellow 4-H members who helped me guide my way in the proper care of my horses. Now I am the president of my 4-h horse club and I hope to be that person the younger members. This passion I began to feel for the caring of animals has radiated through my life. The amount of happiness animals have caused in my life is the main reason I have decided to dedicate my future into caring and helping animals. For 10 years I have had horses and I have always been extremely fascinated in the health of them. I own preformance horses that I ride in hunter jumper classes and speed events like barrel racing and pole bending. With these sports the ability to maintain the horses health has always been top priority for me and my family. I am always looking up new ways to exercise and stretch them to keep them in peak condition and health. Now I am blessed to have a job at a veterinarians clinic where I'm a veterinary assistant. In this position I load rooms where I take down the animals weight, symptoms they are having and I take their temperature then imform the doctors. I help the vet techs with drawing blood, running tests, holding animals, filling medicines among other things. I also assist the veterinarians in the rooms with holding the animals drawing up vaccines and other shots. This amazing opportunity has sparked a fire in my passion for caring for animals. I look at animals in a completely different light after all the new imformation i'm getting through my time at the vet's clinic. I have been accepted and enrolled into Morehead State University where I am majoring in applied Veterinary Technology. I am so excited to purse my passion in caring for animals, I can't wait to start college! I will learn the fundamentals in caring for animals and I cannot wait!