Equestrian Advice: This is part of our Letter to My Rookie Self series, an open letter equestrian reflection project. Learn more and/or submit your own letter here.
Dear Rookie Self,
Ooohh Britt. You just graduated college, and you’re entering into the real world. You are now ready to fully pursue your dream of opening your own Therapeutic Horseback Riding Academy.
First, let me give you some advice. So saddle up and hang on.
The most important thing I want you to remember is that you have already come so far in life at such a young age.
I know you’re tired. I know you’re exhausted, but I just need you to put one foot in front of the other and continue to push forward. YOU GOT THIS.
You are going to get rejected. When you do, go to the next door and knock. If that door does not open, BUILD YOUR OWN. Time is of the essence, and you have dreams to follow girl, so go build your own door and get busy.
People will look down on you because of your age, don’t let that get to you. You know what you are doing.
You will meet some people who will not have your best interests at heart. When you figure out who these people are, do not hold a grudge. You don’t have time for that. Keep it professional and simply no longer associate yourself with them. You have bigger fish to fry. Fly Higher.
You will make some decisions that may set you back a bit. Don’t look at it as you have failed. Look at it as a fail forward.
You learned from that bad decision, and now you are going to be in a better place when it comes time to make another decision that is similar. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Continue to push forward. I promise that you will be alright. It’s not your fault that you didn’t know.
There will be days where you feel like you cannot mentally take it anymore because of the heavy load on your brain from wearing all of the hats in the business you are running…hey, one thing at a time.
You got this. You will be alright.
I know you may not understand all of the things I am telling you right now, but just trust me. I promise you that you will be shocked at what is waiting for you in the future. It is way more than you could have ever imagined.
From horses, to clients, to the facility…believe me when I say that you will be glad you did not quit.
So, with that being said…take everything one day at a time. You will have a lot of very important decisions to make, take your time making them. Make decisions that are best for your future, and not for the now.
Again, you got this.
~ Brittney
P.S. Enjoy this article? Trot on over to:
- Write Your Own Letter to My Rookie Self
- Media Guide: Young Black Equestrians Podcast
- Braided: A Herd Dynamic (Horse Rookie Diversity Initiative)
- Letter to My Rookie Self: Emily Harris
- Letter to My Rookie Self: Sarah Harris
- Small Business Spotlight: The Positive Equestrian
