Forever Young...

I have heard it said that when you get older, the more you hang out with the younger crowd, they will help keep you young. Of course I never really understood what they meant back then. Now that I'm older, I know exactly what the meant.

After high school, Shelly (my twin) and I would mentor and help young girls prepare for our small town fair princess pageant. It is for high school age students and they have a talent portion to the pageant. We would use our cheerleading experience and create fun routines to songs like "Space Jam" or "Space Cowboy" by NSYNC. We also took headshots for the ladies who couldn't afford to get them taken. We were major amateurs, but we loved helping out the ladies. It was always fun to see them grow and learn through the process.

When I was Miss Rodeo Oklahoma (I can't believe that was 23 years ago) I had some really great experiences and ever since then, I have been mentoring young ladies who have never competed before and want to get into the rodeo queen world. I have met some really great gals that have taught me just as much, if not more, as I have taught them. Their hard work and dedication is encouraging to witness and I know that the future of rodeo is in great hands.

Over the years, my love for mentoring and serving the young people of our community has grown into several avenues of serving. Being a sponsor for our church's youth group is definitely one of the highlights of what I get to do, From the music, summer camp, community outreaches, and weekly meetings, I enjoy getting to know the students and being an encouragement in their world.

Colorguard is another love that I discovered in high school. We were not very good because we did not have a director specifically for colorguard, but we had a great time trying. I'm currently the Assistant Colorguard Director at our high school and this is our 3rd year to have guard. It has been so much fun to learn new skills and to awaken my creative mind with the visual affects. It is quite comical to see me trying to learn new tricks with the flag and the rife. The ladies are so amazing to work with and they work extremely hard. Last year was our first year to compete and we were state runner up. Pretty exciting for our first year out!

It is really great to look back over the last 29 years since I graduated high school and see all of the amazing opportunities I've had to work with some really great people. My love for photography has grown into a full time ministry and I am still working with young ladies in pageantry. I still take on photography clients for free, and it is such an honor to be a part of their pageant journey.

I think that serving others is definitely my favorite pass time. I had some really influential people in my life that have helped shape my numerous adventures along the way. I believe it is my turn to give back by serving others in our community and surrounding areas. I am thankful for the young people who inspire and encourage me every-time we have the opportunity to work together. I guess they are the reason I will feel forever young!