The document discusses how tearing her ACL during her freshman year of high school changed the author for the better. It made her appreciate her horseback riding abilities and the horse she owns. Before the injury, she was ungrateful for her health and talents. She has since learned to overcome challenges with a positive mindset and to appreciate each day. Tearing her ACL taught her important life lessons about embracing challenges, not taking abilities for granted, and enjoying small moments.
3. A Little Introduction
• I am going to talk about:
1. How tearing my ACL during my freshman year of
high school changed me for the better
2. How it made me appreciate my horseback riding
abilities
3. How lucky I am to have a horse I can call my own
4. How this experience has made me appreciate
things so much more
5. Epigraph
• “Things do not happen. Things are
made to happen.” –John F. Kennedy
• I think this quote describes my shift perfectly. At
the end of this experience, I was given a horse
that truly changed my life. If I had never torn my
ACL, Gypsy would have never come into my life
and made me one of the Top 10 riders in the
nation.
• I believe it was all part of God’s plan for me
7. The Before
It makes me sad thinking about who I was before my accident
•I remember my parents always being angry with my bad behavior
•I never said or acted like I was thankful for anything they gave me
•They told me I was the most unappreciative person they knew
•I have never been one to have patience; I am always ready for the next move. It was hard for me to
appreciate my horse
•I was always thinking about tomorrow and what I was going to accomplish in the future instead of
focusing on what I was doing in that exact moment
•I did not think I needed to be thankful for anything because I would always be able to get the things I
wanted in life
•I did not realize I acted like a spoiled brat 100% of the time
•I bragged about having my own horse and made my friends feel below me
I would not have wanted to be friends with me
10. The After
•
I learned to never take anything for granted
•
Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to do the things I do every day. Not everyone
has the ability to ride horses.
•
I felt empty for a long time. Not being able to do the things you love is not easy. I
realized that in order to be happy, I needed horseback riding in my life.
•
I learned that I need to enjoy life by living in the present and not focusing on the
past/future
•
Before my accident I didn’t enjoyed riding as much as I do now. Every time I sit on a
horse now I can’t stop smiling
•
It made me appreciate every ride I get now. Every day is an unearned gift. I never want
to get off my horses back. I could ride all day every day
•
We can’t always focus on the big things, the little things are just as important.
•
Enjoy the little things in life because usually they have the biggest impact on us.