When I was little, all I ever wanted to do was live on a sprawling ranch with a 100 horses. I would fantasize about being a world champion barrel racer and traveling the country with a fancy horse trailer with living quarters.
Now that I'm in my twenties, the dream is still there, but it has been put on hold, but I still believe that one day, I'll have my ranch and my 100 horses.
I'm 24 years old and graduated from the University of Mississippi in May 2008. Currently, I work as a public relations specialist for a health care system in Memphis, Tenn., and I'm loving my job. When I'm not working or showing my horses, I enjoy competing in the occasional rodeo queen pageant. In 2007, I decided to start this endeavor, and I won my first pageant, the Miss Rodeo of the Mid-South pageant. I went into early retirement, but now that I'm in my "queening" twilight years, I have decided to give it another go. I'll be competing in a pageant in May of 2010, and it will probably be my last, as I'll be 25 in September. I hope to do my best, and maybe even pull another victory for a small-town Mississippi girl.
In February of 2010, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, usually referred to as juvenile onset diabetes. Yes, I am not a juvenile, but apparently, I am one of the few "lucky" twenty-somethings to develop this disease. Basically, my body is no longer producing insulin, which is necessary to break down sugars and carbohydrates into energy. If your blood sugar gets too high, it can lead to a number of serious health issues, including blindness and amputation and other health concerns.
