Growing up in the mountains of rural Colorado does not guarantee the idyllic life often portrayed in Hollywood movies. In 2013, my parents created a small cattle operation called the SLO ranch . It is completely family run and since then I’ve been living a “cowgirl” lifestyle. I was ecstatic to hear the news that my father no longer wanted to be a general contractor and build custom homes but instead wanted to have agricultural land with cows and horses. Every little girl dreams of having her own horse so I truly believed it was a dream come true. I was finally going to have my own pony, cute pink cowgirl boots and a hat to match! My wish to brush and ride my horse all day turned out to be a bit unrealistic. Since 2013 I have learned the extent of the ranching lifestyle. It wasn’t all blinged out jeans, big belt buckles , hats and cute boots. It was lots of long hot days of manual labor ; irrigating the fields, tending to the cattle, cutting and raking and baling the hay. It was getting up at 6 am before school when it’s negative twenty degrees out to feed and water the animals because they are relying on you. I have learned the meaning of responsibility and the importance of doing what needs to be done in a timely manner. Luckily, most of the ranching work requires horseback riding so I guess a little bit of my dreams came true, I just had to see recognize that beyond the hard work.