Cantering Through College

It's just little old me, a rider and a writer encased in the body of a broke college student. I'm currently living my days as a Psychology and Communication Studies student at the University of Northern Colorado.

[canteringthroughcollege]

And once again the tides have changed...

I’m no longer seriously considering CU Boulder for Spring 2017, mostly due to the insane price tag that would stress me out for years to come following graduation. I have decided to stay at UNC for the next two years and have switched my major to psychology as I believe it will make me significantly happier. I didn’t get to go through sorority recruitment like I had wanted to due to my work schedule, sadly. It’s kind of scary to think that I have less than 2 years left before I finish my BA and that I’m considering grad school. I’m still a bit lonely here at UNC, but it’s getting better slowly. At least all of my classes are interesting, right? I do miss Mesa though...and Chrystal and Scarlette. Hence the reason I’m trying to get the both of them to move here with me next year.

[canteringthroughcollege]

So...I’m considering transferring schools...again. I applied to CU Boulder. I don’t know if I’ll go. But I’m seriously considering it. Because I already feel like I really don’t belong here. I guess we will see come November/December if I even get in. If I do, and if I go...it will be my fourth school in three years, four schools to finish my BA degree. I wonder what the world record is?

[canteringthroughcollege]

Time is Flying

2 years ago I started this blog as a documentation of my journey through my four years at Willy Woods as an Equestrian Science and English double major. Now, I am finishing up my 4th semester at SDMC and have finished my AA in Psychology. In two days I will be driving away from Sunny Southern California and begin my journey to Northern Colorado where I am hoping to complete my BA in Communication before possibly obtaining my MA. Plans have changed a lot, but it seems as though it is all for the better. If I hadn’t left WWU, I wouldn’t be about to celebrate my one year anniversary with the love of my life in three days, I wouldn’t be flying to Poland to see him and his family in four days, I wouldn’t be moving into my own apartment in eighteen days. All in all, despite the dramatic change of plans and the million changes of my major, I thoroughly believe that I am happier than I have ever been because of it. Here’s to change, here’s to the unexpected, here’s to the wonders of life. 

[canteringthroughcollege]

It has gotten to the point where my riding class has made me almost hate riding completely. It's only when I go out to Bonnie's to ride that I enjoy it anymore. I hate that. I may drop the class because I don't want to hate the thing I love the most.

[sasukelangleysohryu-deactivated]

i used to be so weirded out by the fact that everyone takes notes in pen in college because that seems so permanent right, what if you mess up a word, youll have to scribble it out and live with ugly notes

now that i write in pen i realize that i no longer have the strength of will to push down a pencil hard enough to make legible marks. im literally too dead inside to use a pencil. pen is the only way to make proof of my existence at this point 

[icanread]

[tyutan-deactivated20170613]

[darkhairedyogini-deactivated201]

Yessss

[sammy-got-pimped-for-pie]

In honor of back-to-school.

[tasteofmusicisyourface]

FCUK

[smileandfocus]

Can I study here everyday please? 

[canteringthroughcollege]

#49

I’m typically the shy one, the one who has trouble socializing in large groups. But on that one Thursday night at Delt, something was different. I came out of my shell a little bit more, I opened up and let myself live a little. However, it wasn’t in front of just everyone but one guy in particular. We went up to his room and sat on the couch and talked as we sipped at our drinks. I lay my head on his chest as he spoke to me, his slurred words seeping through my ears. Then he kissed me and I kissed back. A minute later I heard some of my sisters walking down the hallway and so I got up to investigate and assured him that I would be right back. On my way back, I noticed he was coming out of his room and he saw me just as he shut it. Of course it was locked and he didn’t have his key. I obviously had a genius on my hands. We made the best of the situation by taking a stroll outside to his truck, which honestly was piece of crap but you could tell he loved it. I climbed into the bed of his truck because that’s what I do and he soon followed after. We lay there and we spoke slurred words between teasing kisses. Then all of my sisters came running out and so I quickly lay down on top of him and we fell silent. The problem was, my leg was in an extremely awkward position and began to cramp up, when I thought they had driven off I sat up to move it and instantly heard 5 high-pitched screams come from the car beside us and I fell back down in embarrassment with a laugh escaping my lips. I gave him one last kiss before climbing out of the truck and running over to the second car that we had. And just like that, it was over. I don’t know his name, he doesn’t know mine and who knows if we will ever even see each other again. It was a spontaneous and relaxing act that helped me let go and live like it was my last night.

[canteringthroughcollege]

And We're Off

So, I don't really have enough time to write a detailed post about the past week so here is a brief overview...

Moved from California to Missouri for school

Lost my luggage

Went through sorority recruitment

Found my luggage

Joined Chi Omega

Moved into the ChiO house

Went to a party at Pike

Classes started

Went to Pike and then went out with some of the guys

More classes started

Had my first ride as an EQS major on Fiama and she was perfect (I will be writing more about this later)

Went to Kevin’s with Jessica

Went on a couple of wonderful back road drives in Alora’s truck

Met a ton of new people

Created a business plan

Tried new things

Kissed a guy I just met

Made it through my first week of college

And this was the start to my freshman year as an Equestrian Science and Business double major at William Woods University and I am loving every minute of it.

[canteringthroughcollege]

Just Float On

So, today was my first day back at the barn since I went out of town to North Carolina for a week and oh boy it was good to be back. I apparently chose the perfect day to come back, it was vet clinic day. This meant that we had the opportunity to shoot, deworm, and float the horses. This sort of thing is extremely fascinating to me and it was my first time being able to watch the vet do it. I learned so much today!

I got to deworm horses, learn how and where to give shots and anesthetics, and watch their teeth get floated. I had the chance to stick my hand into Humphrey’s mouth, while he was tranquilized, and feel around his molars at the back of his mouth to see how sharp they had gotten. For those who do not know what it means when you float a horse’s teeth or why you do it, here is a little background.

When you float a horse’s teeth, you are filing down the sharp edges by using a long file that is called a rasp or float. There are at least four reasons behind this, that I know of (please feel free to inform me of more!). Here are the four that I was told today or already knew:

To keep them from growing too long.

To keep the sharp edges from cutting the insides of their mouth.

So that it is more comfortable for the horse when (s)he has a bit in their mouth.

So that they can eat properly and comfortably.

I found it extremely fascinating to watch this and took a couple of videos too! But the poor ponies looked so pathetic when they were drugged, I almost felt bad for them. Almost.

After the vet finished I was able to take Brandy, a young and lively chestnut Morgan mare, on a lovely and much needed trail ride. Granted she did act up a teency bit here and there throughout the ride, but that’s what makes them more worthwhile. We worked on listening to my leg even when on the trail, getting past “scary” things, and WALKING.

All in all it was an absolutely fantastic day at the barn. I’m going to miss every single one of the people and horses that I have met over the past two and a half years that I have been riding there. As much as I am going to miss it there, I am so thankful that I am finally getting my chance at escaping this city, it’s time for this girly to fly the coop. And who knows, maybe North Carolina is in my future after high school.

[mumfordslionheart-deactivated20]

If you’re gonna bail, bail early. This applies to relationships, college classes, and sledding.

Advice from my high school science teacher, Mr. Miller  (via hefuckin)

[postgraduatepurgatory-deactivat]

Essential Productivity Apps for any student:

Caffeine-  Prevents your screen from going into sleep mode. Great if you’re writing notes on an article and the screen keeps dimming, whilst you hope that if you stare long enough, the phrase “homologous ways to a view of hegemony” will start to make sense.

Flux- If you find that you can’t sleep for ages after studying late at night, then this app is a total game changer. It basically turns the light on the screen red, because science people say that blue light keeps you awake and red light doesn’t. (*Full Disclosure* I’m not a scientist)

Focusbar- The annoying voice of your mother nagging you to finish your homework…in app form. You can set the annoying level (I have it set on “wildly annoying”) and a bar will appear in the corner every few seconds to remind you that you’re supposed to be doing something else besides looking at cat photos. 

Microsoft Office- self explanatory, so I’ve linked to an article about life hacks for Microsoft Office instead. Because I’m just that awesome. 

Nag- Does your 5 minute study break keep turning into an hour on Youtube? Then you need Nag in your life. It’s basically an alarm/timer. But an extremely loud and annoying alarm/timer that’s very difficult to ignore. The bells genuinely sound more judgemental the longer you ignore it.  

Self Control-  Also known as Cold Turkey for Microsoft users. If you absolutely cannot be trusted with an internet connection, then you need Self Control in your life. You add a list of websites to the “blacklist”and then set how long you want the app to work for, and for that duration of time you wont be able to access those website. Seriously, not even rebooting your computer or uninstalling the app will let you access the blacklist until your time is up. Tough love at its finest.

Zotero-  The new love of my life. Zotero allows you to manage all your citations and sources in one easy place. It’s an absolute life saver- no joke. There’s an in-word add in, so it will write your bibliography and citations for you in any format you want. There’s a chrome/firefox add in and a mobile app, so you don’t even have to type the citation into Zotero. Just press the button it does all the hard work for you. It even updates itself online, so you can still access your bibliography if your computer crashes. I <3 Zotero 5eva. 

[canteringthroughcollege]

my campus > yours

[canteringthroughcollege]

My Bucket List

Get an article/writing published

Get a photograph published

Learn a new language

Visit every continent -Australia - North America -South America -Europe -Asia -Africa -Antarctica

Visit all 50 States ✓California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina

Spontaneously go to the airport and board a plane not knowing exactly where you're going.

Take dance lessons

Swim with dolphins

See a giraffe, elephant, and zebra in the wild

Ride a camel

Wake up before 6 a.m. for at least two weeks.

Write (and finish) a book

Work at a resort hotel

Travel for more than five months straight

Visit Machu Picchu

Go wine tasting in Napa

Go to WEF

Go to Maclay Finals

Go to Pony Finals

Ride a horse on every continent -Australia -North America -South America -Europe -Asia -Africa -Antarctica(?)

Ride the 7 craziest roller coasters in the world -Colossus, Thorpe Park, UK -Kingda Ka, 6 Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey -The Riddler's Revenge, 6 Flags MM, California -Leap the Dips, Lakemont Park, Pennsylvania (Oldest coaster) -Superman: Escape from Kyrpton, 6 Flags MM, California -Viper, 6 Flags MM, California -Tatsu, 6 Flags MM, California

Go to Coachella

See the Warped Tour

Send a stranger flowers

Be a waitress

Live in a small town

Move to a different country

Live on an island

Be a full time working student

See the northern lights

Fall in love

Adopt a dog

Sponsor a child

Help build a house

Volunteer in an orphanage

Teach English as a second language

Climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower

See Big Ben

See the FEI Equestrian Games

Go to the Olymbics (as an observer)

Write a love letter

Read 100 books in a year Current: 5

Start a vinyl collection

See the Grand Canyon

Sleep under the stars

Go on a solo road trip

Camp alone

Compete at a show Schooling County 'A' Rated

Kiss a stranger

Try zip-lining (again, and this time, don't fall)

Be completely and blissfully happy

Graduate college

Go to a party

Go to a bulls only rodeo

Run.

Eat healthier

See the wonders of the world

Volunteer at an orphanage/school in a third world country

Be an Au Pair

Adopt -horse -child -dog -cat

Work at a summer camp

Show in a hunter derby

Touch the Atlantic

Help at a therapeutic horse barn

Work in a book store

Live in a small town

Live in Chicago for at least a year

See myself as beautiful

Make a difference in someone's life

Don't be afraid.

[canteringthroughcollege]

Patience is a Virtue

They say that horses teach you something every time you're around them and I could not agree more with that statement. These creatures that are wise beyond the credit that many people give them, will always have something to show you about riding, horses, people, and even just life in general. Today's lesson was patience mixed in with a little bit of "never give up".

Six of us were out on a relaxing trail ride for what my trainer calls No Work Wednesday (NWW) and I was on a lovely 16.2hh chestnut Thoroughbred gelding named Bryce. The ride was going wonderfully with blue skies, a cool breeze rolling off the Pacific, and not an engine rumbling to disturb our peace. That is until Bryce decided he would not, he could not go through the gully that was on our trail. As four of the other five horses waited patiently on the other side, I slowly tried to coax him forward using my leg to keep him in the middle of the trail.

I would squeeze and he would take a step and look around then start backing up at an almost scary rate. I would nudge him forward again and he wouldn't budge. We had quite the disagreement for a while until my trainer gave me a makeshift crop to help urge him past the invisible monster that lurked in the shadows of the brush. After a good five or ten minutes of squeezing, kicking, tapping, clucking, encouraging, and rewarding we finally made it down to the bottom of the gully and by then we had come too far to come back. He made his way quickly up the other side and caught up with the rest of the gang who were still waiting patiently for him.

As I was patting him and telling him what I good boy he was I hear my trainer say behind me "You have a good disposition for that, you stayed calm and were very patient and waited for him to be ready. I wouldn't have been able to take it." That meant a lot to me, coming from her. Then it dawned on me, patience isn't something I should only have with and around horses but in the non-equestrian world as well.

Working at a sandwich shop, I have encountered an extreme variety of people and you never know who may walk through those doors next. What Bryce taught me today is to just breathe, be patient, and never give up because in the end things will work out. If you are determined and know that you can do something then you will. Patience is a requirement when working with both horses and people.