My first "special interest," which began around age three, is horses. My mother thinks horses ruined my career as a corporate lawyer (a longer story behind that), if not my life entirely. It is true I sacrificed higher-paying attorney positions with greater power to pursue my dream of living on my own horse-farm and riding competitively, and true I poured out most of what I did earn on my farm and horses, but up until now IMO it's been worth it.
Except for an occasional moment with my children, the most joyful times of my life were horse-related. In addition, they saved me from feeling out-of-place in Eighth through Tenth grades, kept me more physically active than most of my age-mates until recently (too many falls catch up with you eventually), and socialized me/trained my interpersonal interactions (horses are, of course, persons) in ways that greatly benefited my two children.
It is only now that I'm too damaged to ride that I wonder whether I would have been better off to fight this special interest.
Anyone else here someone whose "special interest" is horses?
25 Jul 2016, 1:28 pm
