Day one.

Day two.

Day three.

These are my selects for my project365 from all three days I spent at the Missouri High School Rodeo State Championships. The first night, I came in to finish up for Jonathan when he had to leave for the newsroom. It was HOT. The second day was actually on my shift, and it was even HOTTER. And dirtier. And longer. The third night, Scott and I went back for the finals. Thankfully, the weather cooled off a bit and it was a nice night. Before coming to Mizzou, I would never have pictured myself spending three days at a rodeo.

What an experience, covering an event like this. I’ve never seen a rodeo before, let alone hang out with horses standing pretty much on top of you everywhere. I had only touched a horse once, at the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival this past October. I got dirty, climbed fences, watched cowboys get trampled, got almost underneath horses and leaned over the tops of holding pens to get a better angle praying the camera wouldn’t slip out of my hand. (The strap was wrapped around my wrist quite a few times, but still.) Standing in the shower before bed on Friday night, all I could think was, “Who is this person I’ve become?”

Moments like this, my friends, is what we live for.

Originally posted to the staff class blog.