My early life revolved around horses. Posters of different horses lined the walls of my bedroom, my youtube history was filled with gorgeous prancing ponies and magnificent mustangs. You really couldn’t get me to talk about anything else. I was, as one would say, the quintessential horse girl. I spent all day at the barn, working off my lessons by mucking stalls, babysitting pay clients’ children, or anything that anyone needed done. I genuinely thought that this was enough to continue riding. It wasn’t until I was 16 when my mom sat me down and discussed with me that we no longer could afford for me to ride. She explained to me that she had been cutting back everywhere she could, but our finances finally reached a point where horses had to go too. I was devastated. I felt a part of my identity had been taken away. I understood why this had to happen, but that didn’t change how I felt about it. When I turned 20, I scraped together enough money for a car. And with that, came the ability for me to consider horses again. Unfortunately, my finances couldn’t carry the burden of lessons either, but I was determined to be around them somehow. That’s when I discovered Giant Steps, a therapeutic riding center near me who was in need of volunteers. This was my first experience with volunteering for something that was just my decision. I wasn’t forced to do it for school, I didn’t do it with a group of people, it was just mine. And it changed my life. The people I met through this program were some of the kindest people I had ever known, both the riders and the trainers. I still remember a moment where one of the riders almost fell off, but I caught them before they hit the ground. I felt so proud of the work that I was doing that I knew that I only wanted to do something with my life that made me feel this way. Eventually, my life fully took me away from horses (though I’m fully determined to get back to it once I finish my education), but I’m still firmly rooted in the things I learned through that work. I spent a year volunteering for an advocacy organization, and I work now for a non-profit helping with grants. And after school, my plan is to continue working in the non-profit space. I want to use the tools I've learned to make the world a better place than I found it. And I hope one day to return to Giant Steps as a volunteer.