Written by Lily Mitchell, NALJA Director

Ihope everyone is doing well and staying dry with all the mud and spring weather. Since spring is here, I find that even though the sun is out longer, it seems like I still have less time during the day to do anything. Being a senior in high school, it feels like every day just gets busier and busier as I get closer to graduation. Between schoolwork, sports, jobs and of course, cattle work, I am busy from sunup to sundown. I am sure everyone has a similar schedule.

I would consider this to be my favorite time of the year, even though it can drain a person mentally and physically not knowing if you’re going to wake up to 25 degrees and snow or 60 degrees and sunny. The one consistent thing in spring to work around is MUD! I guess I’ll take it because it means the ground is thawing and soon the grass will be green and warmer days will be here.

Even though days are busy and sometimes crazy, I find it important to remember to go into every day with a smile. I am getting older, and even though everything stays busy before I know it, I will be too old for school and shows and all this crazy. It feels like it wasn’t very long ago that I didn’t have to worry about any of this or at least I didn’t realize it. Now it’s almost to the point where I can only watch most of this from the sidelines.

Remember that even if the day before didn’t go as planned, each day is new, and it’s best to start with a smile. With each day that you get through, it puts you one day closer to Junior Nationals in Rapid City! Where the days are full of family, friends, cattle, and fun.