Me and b(abe)
“Whatever you are, be a good one.” This quote from Abraham Lincoln is my favorite quote for more than one reason. 1) As a history nerd, Abraham Lincoln is probably definitely, my favorite historical figure. 2) I honestly believe it’s true and live by it daily.
Things sometime don’t go as planned. Whether something changed at school, work, or the barn, the plan isn’t always going to stay the same.
As horseback riders, we encounter change daily while riding; we have to adjust our plan to accommodate for the horse we have that day. And hey, change isn’t necessarily a bad thing! While you might be upset or confused when the path changes, it might lead to bigger or better things.
I had always expected that I’d always keep my focus on eventing and eventing only. However, some cross country spookiness came up and so I decided to dabble in jumpers for a while to get our confidence back up. And we didn’t just get our confidence back, we even gained some.
Punky’s just extra careful… just in case!
Something clicked and everything felt right. The confidence boost helped us both in the jumper ring as well as at our events!
While I had NEVER thought I would do jumpers (cross country is way too much fun), I found myself enjoying it more and more until I realized I was a show jumper as well as an eventer.
Being careful pays off in jumpers!
This also applies to non-horsey life. As a sophomore (rising junior!) in high school, I have been testing out different interests of mine that I might expand in college.
I’ve found that I’m very interested in politics and business, which was something I hadn’t really considered before. While I would absolutely love to become a professional rider, I understand that I also need a back up plan since, as every horse person knows, the horse world is not easy.
As I consider different options for my future, I have no idea what I want to do or what I will do. But I do know that whatever I do, I want to be good at it. Maybe I’m just a naturally competitive person, or maybe I just want to do the best for the people around me.
All I know for sure is that whatever I become, I want to be a good one.
Thanks to Abe for always inspiring me, pushing me to be my best self, and reminding me that I don’t have to decide everything right away.
