DDR 061 - Anna Hamelin

In this engaging conversation, Rick Hanson interviews Anna Hamelin, a former weather broadcaster who transitioned into law enforcement. Anna shares her journey from a dream career in broadcasting to finding her true calling in law enforcement, emphasizing the importance of community, connection, and personal growth. She discusses the challenges she faced in her broadcasting career, the support she received from friends and family during her transition, and her newfound passion for the outdoors and hunting. Anna's story is one of resilience, self-discovery, and the pursuit of happiness in one's career and life.

Rick and Anna explore the significance of clean eating, physical health, and the joy of outdoor experiences. They discuss how these elements contribute to creating lasting memories and fostering connections with nature and others. The dialogue also touches on the spiritual aspects of being outdoors, the balance between solitude and community, and personal aspirations for the future, including family and defining a good life.

They explore the importance of living with purpose, serving others, and the power of encouragement. They discuss how small acts of kindness can uplift both the giver and receiver, emphasizing the need for community support and being there for one another during tough times. The dialogue also touches on the influence individuals can have on the next generation, particularly in empowering women in traditionally male-dominated fields.

Finally, they reflect on overcoming fear and embracing personal growth, encouraging listeners to pursue their passions despite uncertainties.

You can find Anna Hamelin on Instagram @annamometer

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Takeaways

• Anna Hamelin was a trusted weather broadcaster before transitioning to law enforcement.
• She felt unfulfilled in her dream job, leading to a career change.
• Community support played a crucial role in her transition.
• Anna emphasizes the importance of making people feel good in their daily lives.
• She found confidence and purpose in outdoor activities like fishing and archery.
• The journey of self-discovery can lead to unexpected career paths.
• Anna's story highlights the significance of following one's true calling.
• She encourages others to pursue their passions, even if they seem unconventional.
• The outdoors provide a sense of peace and fulfillment for Anna.
• <

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Well, hello, Don't Die Rusty Nation.
This is going to be, this is actually going to be a conversation that I have been wantingto have for a long, time.
And our guest tonight is Anna Hamlin.
And she used to be the weather person that I would watch every morning.

(00:24):
And the funny thing about this is you trust, I,
I trust very few people in my life.
then I, but, but you were one of those people I would only watch the news for in themorning was Anna because I trusted what she said.
I liked her authenticity and I thought she, you could just tell she was a good person.

(00:46):
So I am lucky to have Anna Hamlin on here tonight.
And we're going to talk about her journey through life, where she is and what she's beendoing and what's going on now.
I'm so excited.
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to talk about all that stuff.
feel like people, don't always get to share my whole story.
So it's really nice to be able to actually delve into some of those things.

(01:11):
Well, I'm going to, I'm not going to try to give you a big head here, but I am going totalk highly of you.
Okay.
And, and I'm going to start out if people around the world don't know, uh, Anna was themorning weather person.
And then she, in the end of when she left her job, she was doing like morning, noon andnight.

(01:34):
It felt like, you know, and, and then you were doing the news too.
And you were very busy and she.
She's the highlight of the Black Hills, I will say.
Thank you.
That's so nice.
That's so kind.
And here, you know, when you came on, my wife, my wife always gives me heck, but becauseI'm a very critical weather person in the aspect that if you don't know the names of the

(02:03):
town, why are you even talking about them kind of thing?
And Anna, you came on and you knew the names of the town.
were, you brought something to the weather that you and Brand did.
I liked your electricity.
both of you being very knowledgeable.
But you made me watch the news in the morning and I would go to work and say, you knowwhat?

(02:28):
Your phone is wrong.
Anna said this is going to happen.
And it usually did, right?
It usually did.
And here's the deal, you'd bring in your crocheted animals.
Yes.
Yeah.
You would talk about your cats.
You would talk about, I loved how you talked about uh ice fishing.

(02:54):
always.
except I'm not a fisherman.
I'm a hunter and you know, and I, I go out and do my stuff that way.
My dad's a big fisherman and I, I kind of miss those times, but you know, it's, it'sinteresting that you, you do that and we'll get more into that stuff.
But can you tell me, just tell us a little bit about yourself and the stories, like howdid you get to Rapid City and, and what made you enjoy weather and then change your

(03:24):
I mean, it's kind of like a, I wouldn't even say 180 degrees change in perspective and howdid you get to places you've been?
That's a super good question.
And I'm glad that you're letting me talk about that.
Cause I told you before, a lot of people, like I see them in, you know, Sam's club orwhatever, and they're like, why would you leave?
And uh I ended up saying, well, it just, was God's plan.

(03:47):
Weather wasn't really my calling after a little while, but it was my dream for so long.
And it's, hard to have that conversation with somebody in two minutes in the grocery storeaisle, you know, to explain like what, what God's calling on your life is and why it
changes and how that changes as you grow.
So.
um I'm glad to be able to talk about that a little bit.
I went to college for meteorology, obviously got my degree from our physics and spacescience program in meteorology at my college.

(04:14):
And I did not really grow up religious or anything at all.
I was just kind of raised to be good to people and do what I wanted and follow my heart,which is a wonderful, you know, way to raise a kid.
And by the time I graduated from college, I had kind of a weird past into
my job, feel like.

(04:34):
So I was set to graduate in May of 2021 from college, but in November of 2020, I ended upgetting my first job in broadcasting because my last semester of college, I only had two
classes left and it was 2020.
So both of my sports, did cheer and dance and cross country and track in college.
Both of them were canceled that year.
So I was like, why am I even still on campus to take two classes and not do any of mysports?

(05:00):
It just felt kind of silly.
So in November of 2020, I applied for a job in news because my whole life, all I wanted todo was the morning weather.
Like that was my life dream.
Wanted to do the morning weather, help people wake up and have a good start to their day.
I was always good at math and science and talking to people.
So I figured that was kind of the best combination of all of those things.

(05:21):
And I decided to get started.
So I moved up to West Virginia in November of 2020 and started my job there.
And it was...
a little bit of a rocky start, I'd say, in the broadcast industry.
You don't make a lot of money to start off, in the news stations that are owned by mediacorporations.

(05:44):
So that's a huge reason why I ended up coming here, because News Center One was not ownedby anyone.
It was just a local station owned by a local person, which is why I moved here eventually.
But going back to West Virginia, started November of 2020 making
$29,000 a year in West Virginia, which is not really like a livable, sustainable wage.

(06:05):
um And I just kind of did my best, fought through it for about eight months.
I went through, I think, like five different, four or five different bosses at my newsstation, which that's a really hard way to start a career too, because like you don't have
good leadership, you just have no idea what you're supposed to be doing.
Like that's, I felt a lot of the time like...
I was just doing things wrong, but I didn't even know how to do them right because therewas nobody to coach or tell me or anything.

(06:29):
Um, so I ended up leaving after like eight months in West Virginia and broadcast.
And the hard part about that is when you work again for a media corporation and not forlike a local company, you have to buy out your contract.
So it costs me $3,400, I think it was to get the rights to my image and likeness backafter working there, making like no money.

(06:52):
So that kind of.
That already kind of put me on a path of like, don't know if this is for me.
Like I don't want to have to buy my image and likeness rights back just to be allowed tomove.
mean, to be 21 and feeling that trapped, like I can't even leave somewhere that I'm nothappy at because I have to pay them multiple thousands of dollars to get out.
I just don't like that they put people in that position.

(07:13):
Like I don't think that's a fair way to anybody, but especially uh basically a kid.
Like I was 21 years old.
turned 22 and then moved to Rapid City because I said, well, I want to give thisbroadcasting another try, but I want a family owned station and I want to live in a small
town where I could actually see myself raising a family someday.
So I moved out to Rapid City.

(07:34):
I had visited here as a kid and I absolutely loved it.
I just remember being six years old and like running around the Black Hills and Custer andHill City.
I remember getting pie at the Purple Pie place and I was like, I've got to go back there.
I've got to live in near that Purple Pie place.
I was just, I was so determined.
ha.
So I moved back here, absolutely fell in love with it.
And it really healed, I feel like it healed my relationship with media a lot as well,because I also felt kind of like an odd duck out.

(08:00):
There's not a lot of more like traditional Christian young people in media at this point,I don't really feel like.
So I also kind of felt like the little lost goose just wandering around trying to do myown thing, but not feeling like I really fit in.
So moving to Rapid City definitely healed that as well, because the news station was
absolutely phenomenal that I worked for the best people, the best bosses, um and they allturned into like my best friends.

(08:27):
So I really appreciated that a lot.
did the morning show, I think for almost three years, and I had a blast.
But what was weird, like I said, I grew up my whole life dream was to do the morningweather.
I wanted to do nothing more than that.
And after what about three years of doing the morning weather, I still did not feel like

(08:49):
It was not fulfilling me at all, which is weird because you would think I'm doing mydream.
I'm living my dream.
This is awesome.
But the dream that I had had my whole life as a kid, once I actually started doing it, Iwas like, this is not me.
I just don't feel happy in what I'm doing, which that's a hard realization to come to oflike the thing that you work so hard for.
It's not actually what's fulfilling you or giving you purpose.

(09:11):
And I think that's hard to explain to people too, because they say, well, you were so goodat the weather.
don't.
I don't get it.
Like, how did you not love it?
And I did love it.
ah But I knew just like deep in my heart and in my chest, it just wasn't sitting fullyright.
I never really felt purpose.
I never felt like even when I had a good broadcast or a good day, I didn't go home feelinglike, man, I did something good today.

(09:35):
I was just like, how long can I keep doing this?
And that's not where I wanted to live my life.
So I promised myself since I studied weather for four years, I'd work in weather for fouryears, kind of even it out.
because then it's not a loss, If you study it for four years and do it for four years,it's just a wash is basically what I had convinced myself.

(09:56):
So I think in 2022, I started working as a reserve law enforcement officer.
So I worked about a maybe two shifts a month, I would say.
And they were all volunteer hours, which again, people are like, are you nuts?
Why would you do that for free?
But I absolutely loved it, made amazing friends, helped.

(10:16):
um, help my local community.
It was awesome.
And it was one of those things where, um, I can't really put my finger on exactly how Istarted doing it.
I just saw something online.
Like I saw a Facebook post that said, Hey, we're hiring our next reserve officer class.
If you think this is for you, fill out an application, see what happens.
And I just felt pushed to do it.

(10:37):
I think again, it's one of those things where God basically I had to listen.
I heard him tell me, Hey, just go apply for this.
And it's.
I think when a lot of people are looking for direction on their path, like you expect, youknow, an angel to descend and like point exactly where you're, where you need to go.
And that's not how it works.
It was more just like a gentle nudge that I felt inside like, Hey, maybe I should applyfor this, which I didn't grow up with anybody really close to me in law enforcement or

(11:05):
anything.
So I don't know why I had that feeling, but I tried, absolutely loved it.
Um, and then once I neared that four year mark in doing the weather.
I just knew somehow inside that it was time to switch and I applied for the job.
I got it.
And it's just been an awesome, awesome time since then.

(11:27):
Well, you know, it's amazing because what you just said about that nudge that God givesyou, I always thought it was going to be like you see in the movies or whatever, the
bright light comes on and whoa, this is what I was supposed to do.
But like you said, it doesn't happen that way.

(11:47):
but if, if you see things, you start realizing that some things become more important inyour life in the aspect of
That was your thought that you needed to do.
Just like, don't die rusty is what I thought I needed to do to get my voice out.
And when you, the things that when you do good for other people, what you're doing goodfor other people.

(12:12):
And when people can be inspired either by you or have an aha moment, that means we aredoing what we're supposed to be doing.
And we are giving back to community in the ways that we're supposed to.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
hear that because any so now I'm going to go back.
um When what did your parents think about this?

(12:36):
They were horrified, absolutely horrified.
They thought I was crazy.
They were like, what do you mean?
Like you're doing great at your job.
They would wake up and watch me on the news in the morning because you can stream thebroadcast, you know.
So they'd wake up, watch me in the morning.
And one day I literally called my parents and I was like, hey, I just want to let youknow, I put in my one month notice and I accepted a job in law enforcement and that's

(13:01):
where I'm going.
And they were very...
they're very surprised to say the least.
My whole family was pretty shocked and um it was hard to kind of convince myself at thatpoint that it was the right decision when everyone around you is like, that's absolutely
crazy.
Why on earth would you do that?

(13:22):
To even keep believing that I had made the right choice.
But thankfully I did have some friends that were super supportive at the time.
And then eventually my family came around to it too, especially after I graduated from ourpolice academy here.
ah got a few months into my job and was out on my own and doing good things.
They definitely saw eventually like, that does make sense for her.

(13:44):
They kind of saw how I adapted to it and how much it actually did fit my personality.
Well, good, you know, mean, you know, it makes me, it makes me happy to see somebodychasing their dreams.
And it also like, sometimes I feel like maybe I didn't do what I was supposed to dosometimes, but you never know where you're supposed to be at times.

(14:08):
And like you said, I think, I think God guide you to the places you need to be.
And you know, cause I have, I have a lot of military friends.
I have a lot of law enforcement friends and I was thinking, you know,
Why didn't I go do this stuff when I was young and 20 and, but I think I was just supposedto go a different direction and that's the way it was.

(14:29):
But I want to say thank you for doing what you do.
Well, thank you.
Yeah, we all appreciate that a lot.
You know, because, you know, I believe that you guys don't get enough thanks.
Law enforcement doesn't get enough thanks for what they do.
You know, if you pick me up for speeding or whatever I was doing, just, I guess I wasspeeding, you know what I mean, kind of thing.

(14:52):
So no, whatever.
But thank you for that.
uh But anyway, you...
I told you this earlier and I talked to my wife after I talked to you on the phone just alittle bit and I said, and then I said, told, cause you brought a light to the weather

(15:13):
every morning and I told my wife, and I told you, said, when it was Christmas time andDeadwood had the Christmas tree up and you would always go to the Christmas tree.
I always wanted to say you're awesome and have a big banner out there or something becauseI wanted you to know that
We all appreciated you.
We all appreciate the authenticity that you bring to whatever you do and the friendliness.

(15:42):
you are a person that I feel gives everybody confidence in themselves by saying, well,Anna is telling us the weather.
In law enforcement, expect, I don't.
want to meet you in that capacity.
I'm just kidding.
Anyway, but uh it was interesting because you'd bring on your crocheted dinosaurs or youtalk about your animals and we would, it was one of those things that even Cindy, before

(16:18):
we got, uh like I'm getting ready to go to work, she's getting ready to go to work andwe're still watching the news.
And the camaraderie you guys had in the morning was awesome too.
And, and like I said, I'm, I'm, I was very critical of, I mean, like it just drives menuts when people don't know names and stuff, but you did what you were, you were a shining

(16:41):
light in the mornings and I believe you will be a shining light in law enforcement too.
Thank you.
Yeah, that's actually, that's one of the main things I focus on is just being good topeople.
That's why I wanted to do morning news was because um like life is hard.
I had so many hard days.
I mean, I'm only 25, but I've probably had more harder days than most I would say.

(17:02):
And some of that's my doing because I made things hard on myself with how anxious I gotabout life for absolutely no reason.
um But like life is super hard.
And I know my pastor's wife, she always says,
At the end of the day, we're all just walking each other home.
And that's something that I tried to bring to the morning news a lot was um it was myopportunity to make sure that I gave people their chance to at least start the day off on

(17:27):
a good foot.
You never know what's going to happen during the day, but I wanted to help people start itwith a smile and kind of get through that.
And eventually I burned myself out to the point that I started to struggle to even startmy day happy.
So then um I knew, I just knew it was time for a change.
I actually gave a graduation speech at my law enforcement academy graduation and I endedit on kind of a similar thought.

(17:51):
I talked about Maya Angelou's quote of people forget what you said and they'll forget whatyou did, but they'll never forget how you made them feel, which is something that I kind
of focused on with the news, just helping people feel loved and feel like they can have agood day and conquer whatever comes their way that day.
But that's also a huge reason.

(18:12):
of why I do what I do now and something that I try to focus on is leaving everyone with agood impression of what a law enforcement officer can be.
Even if it is a citation, you know, I explain this is what happened.
This is the law that was violated.
And this is why it's important not to speed because I have seen, you know, wrecks wherepeople have unfortunately lost their life or something even less severe, but still.

(18:35):
you know, really debilitating for someone to go through.
And at the end of the day, I'm just trying to prevent them from going through that pain orthat agony or their family from going through that.
So I always try to leave them, you know, with a good impression and um help them stillfeel like they're, they're a good person.
They're still loved.
It's okay to make mistakes, you know, so.
Yes, and you know for chasing your dream I have a friend that I I went through some stuffabout 15 20 years ago and He said there is no rewind in life you can never Go back to

(19:12):
where it was.
So when you're chasing your dreams right now, you know, it's it's interesting how I I loveto see
that you decided to do this and you're successful in whatever you're doing because you cantell that you would be successful in whatever you would do because of the push that you

(19:36):
have to be successful.
you know, and it was...
Outdoors, the other thing that interests me was you being outdoors all the time.
And now I love how you're challenging yourself, not just because of the, not just fishing,but you're shooting and you're shooting archery.

(19:59):
You're in, and this is where I have found my piece.
That's, this is where you can go shut off that phone.
can disconnect and you can, I, there's a,
It was 2020 and I climbed Crow Peak a hundred times in six months.

(20:20):
And that's where I would talk to God.
That's where I would find myself.
That's where I would solve what I hoped.
Most of the time I hoped I solved my problems.
But when you get to be in that outdoor part of the world and to see you being thatoutdoorsy person,

(20:43):
What do the outdoors do for you?
Same thing.
um I go to church on Sundays, at least when I'm not working on Sundays, but um Idefinitely have spent way more time with God and figuring out issues that I've had working
through things myself and working through things with Him um than I ever did in church.

(21:04):
And that's definitely not, you know, a strike at church at all.
I absolutely love going.
But um something about sitting there thinking like, okay, he made that tree.
He knows me better than he knows that tree.
He's got this.
And being outdoors, same thing.
It also makes me less afraid of life, which I think that every woman should, every personin general should do, but especially females, because um I think a lot of times you kind

(21:32):
of grow up thinking, at least I grew up thinking, know, fishing is for boys, archery isfor boys, shooting is for boys, just because that's who you see doing it, which that's not
a bad thing.
I mean, I love that they're involved in the outdoors and stuff.
but it gives me so much confidence when I can go out and I just shoot my bow for a littlewhile.
And I think the reason it does is because this is all stuff I never grew up doing.

(21:55):
So I'd encourage anybody that kind of grew up inside.
I went on hikes and mountain bike rides all the time as a kid, but I never got intoshooting sports or into fishing.
And I think whether it's going outdoors or just learning a new hobby in general, it givesyou so much strength outside of that sport or outside of that specific thing because

(22:16):
Now I think to myself, like three years ago, I had no idea how to tie, even tie a fishinghook onto some line.
And now I'm out there, you know, catching some of the biggest trout up in deer field orwhatever it might be.
And a month ago, I had no idea how to shoot a bow and arrow, but I went to a couple ofclasses.
I ended up getting a bow from some friends of friends.

(22:37):
I bought it through them, got some arrows, started figuring it out.
And that makes me think, you know,
in every situation in life.
Well, I figured that out.
I'm sure I can figure this out too.
um you know, I was able to learn how to do that.
So I'm sure I can learn how to do this and whether that ties into like owning a home andfiguring out how to make repairs or even repairing, you know, a relationship.

(22:58):
Well, if I can figure out how to shoot a bow, I can figure out how to have this toughconversation with somebody and we can work through this problem.
Yeah, because it's one of those places that you go that, like you said, it'll help youbuild the confidence that you need.
Like, you know what?
You could drop me out here for a couple days or three days and I can, I know I can makeit.

(23:21):
It doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter if it was raining or if it was beautiful out or whatever.
you know, and I've always, to me, I mean, I have to give it to you is,
I've always said, I am, I feel safer in the outdoors than I do in any city on earth, youknow, uh, because I know, you know, a lot of how an animal react, but you don't know how a

(23:48):
human will react for one thing.
And, know, if you, I'm just take, take, uh, bears with cubs, you just avoid them in mostof the time, you'd be all right.
I mean, I understand other things happen, but you know, you.
you understand how to survive if you have to.
And I think we've lost a little of that.

(24:10):
And I have a lot of female friends that uh have got into the outdoors.
uh One of my best friends, Ashley, her dad and brother went hunting, but she just neverwent really.
And she hunts a lot and we actually go on trips and leave our spouses at home and...

(24:32):
Yeah.
that's the way it was or, or I have a couple other friends that are coming up here huntingtoo that that are females that just took it up and just started and they are they, and
here's, here's what I've said in another episode was hunting has taken me places that Iwouldn't go normally that I have seen in other places, under other states or other parts

(24:59):
of the country because
And that makes me happy that you get to the and there's nothing I don't know about you,but I love for me.
The morning sunrises are my best part of my day.
And I post a picture every morning about the sunrises and, and stuff like that, but it isamazing to me to have God smile on you with whatever you and it's never the same.

(25:31):
Mm-hmm.
You know, there's, there's a different color every morning.
There's a different, uh, it comes up in a different area or, and, and, you know, whenpeople start one to see the sunrises or sunsets even, I just believe that sunrise, have to
get out of bed in the morning.
Anybody can see a sunset, but the sunrises, you have to get up to see them to enjoy themin that cold, fresh air and everything.

(25:57):
I don't have to get deep into that because people have heard all this stuff, but
It really makes me feel at peace and it really makes me feel fulfilled.
Mm-hmm, for sure.
And so where do you see yourself in, you know, do you feel that you're going to start likedeer hunting and doing other things and like enjoying that time out in the woods or

(26:27):
wherever too?
Yeah, for sure.
mean, hunting is something that takes, I think, a couple of seasons to get into.
And I started in 2022.
I actually went out with my friend when they harvested a doe with their their doe tag thatyear.
So I kind of got to watch.
We ended up doing kind of a spot and stock on public land, basically is how I've beenlearning.

(26:48):
And so I'm hopefully, hopefully, fingers crossed, going to get a turkey this season.
That's my goal.
Kind of start there.
I feel like a bird might be a little bit easier for me to start with than.
a doe or buck.
I figured turkey, turkey is a good place to start.
And then I can keep kind of moving up from there.
And it's something I'm very, very interested in.

(27:09):
really want to hopefully I'll I mean, I'll put in for a deer tag this year.
Hopefully I get get one.
I'm able to draw one.
um That way I can really start getting into that as well, because I also like being ableto um harvest my my food and then eat it.
I am super into like healthy
and clean eating to the best of my abilities.

(27:30):
And it's easy to do when you have your own animal that you've processed and you knowexactly where that came from.
there's no preservatives in it.
If you do it yourself, then you know exactly what's in there.
So that's something that I'm very interested in as well.
Well, it's, it's interesting you say that because I, that's why I eat a lot of, mean,between elk deer and whatever else we get, that's 90 % of our meat.

(28:01):
And, and you know where it's came from.
I'm nothing against where I know we're in beef country, but, I know where I, cause we,butcher it.
We do everything process it.
ourselves so we know exactly where it has come from and we know exactly what is what hasbeen done to it and we know it's ours and It's interesting.

(28:27):
You also say you're clean eating as best you can because I was in a little funk and wehave done a couple episodes about that and I have started seeing a functional doctor and
I'm learning
I'm learning how to eat a little more clean than I have been.

(28:52):
Not because I want to live to be 125, it's that I want to be able to climb those mountainsand go do those things until I can't.
And there's, I've always said that you can, you can, nobody can take your memories away,but they can take your money.

(29:15):
So.
Do what you can to create as many memories as possible in this life.
So that's where I love the hunting part and the function.
Like I said, I'm trying to eat cleaner and I'm trying to be whatever I can to, ah youknow, uh be the best me.

(29:37):
That's what this is all about.
Yeah, I think taking care of yourself is super important when it comes to like exercise,clean eating and just spending time outside because ah it's my belief that at the end of
the day, like God put me here to be there for other people, to serve other people, toserve him by serving other people.
So if I am not eating healthy enough or exercising enough, that's a disservice to peoplearound me and people that love me.

(30:02):
Like I was created to help them and to love them.
And if I'm putting myself in a position that I'm
restricting my ability to do that.
Like that is pretty much to me directly contradicting my purpose.
So I try to do everything that I can to keep myself in good enough shape and spirits thatI can be there for anybody that needs it.
Yeah.

(30:22):
And there's, mean, for me, I, I do a little, I do mostly like body weight stuff in, havea, we have a little, I'm not going to say we have a gym, but we have a room that I can go
do stuff in my, in my basement.
And we have, and I get up every morning and I go for roughly a three or four mile walk.
and I have, I have two torn meniscus, but I try to run as best I can too, just to get myheart rate up.

(30:49):
But,
It's amazing.
Cause you give the, like you just got done saying by me doing that, I feel like can givethe best of me to the people that are around me.
So if they need help in anything, uh, my dad is 81 years old.
And if I take him hunting, we know who's going to be packing out the animal, you know, or,but there is nothing like creating those memories with them.

(31:19):
Totally, yeah.
you know, because you aren't going to get some back.
And by me being in the best shape I can, I can say, if you can make it down there, I canget it out.
And you just, you just smile and have a good time and remember you are with your son.

(31:40):
I mean, it's like being with your parents or whoever else, like, you know, we need to...
We need to uh enjoy the time that we have as best we can.
And I know it's not every day, but you know, it's one of those things.
It's just how it is.

(32:01):
So no, I just, it's, I'm just so happy to see you enjoying the woods too.
But I know a lot of people you make jealous, you know, because
You see these big fish that you have though.

(32:23):
You do catch some pretty big trout, you know what I mean?
I hope you don't have Anna on your vehicle and when you go down to dig the holes and stuffso people know where she fishing at, know, kind of thing.
Well, the thing is I post all the big ones.
I occasionally post some of the small ones on social media too, but I only post the bigones.

(32:46):
I've probably caught more fish the size of like my index finger than I'd like to admit.
So I catch like 50 fish in one day sometimes and sometimes only one of them makes it upthere because the rest of them are like rock bass that was born the night before or
something.
uh
But they, I've talked to a few people and they said, have you seen the fish that shecatches?

(33:09):
My gosh.
You know, so that's, that's very awesome to keep that up.
And I really liked hearing that or like seeing that too, you know.
yeah, it's so much fun.
And I'm really thankful that somebody actually took the time to teach me how to fish overan ice fishing season.
He, Jim Bussle, he spent a bunch of time with me just teaching me exactly what to do, howto figure out where to go fishing, what stuff I needed to buy.

(33:36):
And I'm just thankful.
mean, somebody took the time out of out of their life to give me that opportunity and thatskill.
And now I get to share it with other people too, which has been super awesome.
And um
I love fishing.
I just love being outside.
think there's positives to fishing on the ice.
It's really cool to be able to walk out to places that I don't have a boat.

(33:58):
So it's really cool to walk out to places that I can't reach from the shore and be able tosee some fish and things like that there.
And then it's really awesome too to go fly fishing in the summer and just stand in thecreek.
I never catch fish when I'm fly fishing.
Like if I catch a brook trout, that's the size of my thumb.
I had an outstanding day.
But I just like standing there in the water and thinking to myself like how cool it is tobe just where I am.

(34:22):
And no matter how many bushes or how many flies the bushes eat and steal from me, I'm justhappy that I got to go stand in the water for a while.
And listen to the water run and to look up and yeah, and to listen to the sky.
I, like I said, it's funny.

(34:44):
A few years ago, I had a friend that had a moose tag in Wyoming.
He was from Wyoming and I went Labor Day weekend on a, to help them out.
And, and then, uh
My wife went to Western Montana fly fishing and she's never done that before.
And she had a heck of a time and, she brings that up and, uh, you know, they didn't catcha lot of fish, but they had a good time and that's what it was all about.

(35:14):
and she keeps on talking about wanting to go back.
And actually, I know it's one of our friends and he's a guy in, over by Hamilton, but, uh,he, I said I'll go over and.
take pictures and you can go fly fishing and we'll have a good old time.
Yeah.

(35:35):
So, you know, it's, so what do you think is more peaceful, sitting on the ice or standingin the creek?
Oh.
That's tough because at Deerfields, when I was out there fishing this winter, there were afew times there's some bald eagles that live up there and they were screeching and flying

(35:56):
around and that was super cool.
I love bald eagles.
They're like one of my favorite creatures.
So being able to see those, I remember too, actually, I was, my boyfriend was driving andI was sitting in the passenger seat on the way up there and I just sat there and asked
him, I said,
ah I'm gonna pray that we see a bald eagle today if you want to join me." He said, okay.

(36:17):
And I just remember thinking like, it would be so cool if you let me see a bald eagletoday.
I would love to see one.
I haven't seen one in a long time.
And then we saw a couple of them flying over us.
it's just one of those little things where, you know, you're like, wow, he really is, Godreally is always listening to me when you just say, hey, I just love to see an eagle.
And then all of a sudden one goes soaring above your head, you know, 10 minutes later.

(36:40):
So.
I always have those experiences.
then in the creek, on the other hand, I get to stand there and I'm thinking about, well,this water is always moving.
It's always changing.
It's never the same in the same second.
And I think that's a really cool thing to stand there and process too is like, yeah, thismoment could be hard in life, but life is kind of a little river and you're going to hit

(37:01):
some of those huge rocks and get tossed around.
And then you just keep on floating downstream and it calms down and it ends up alwaysgetting better.
So.
I also like sitting there, hearing the birds standing in the water, that kind of thingtoo.
I think they're both, they're peaceful in different ways for me.
Well, I agree.
When I was looking around here, I was looking at, but I took the picture to work, but Iwas lucky enough.

(37:26):
We went out to Jackson to the elk refuge and went on the sleigh through the there in oneyear.
I mean, I've done it a few times, but uh the one year we went through, there's a dead elkout there and there's a bald eagle on top of the elk.
And I have a picture of that.
And I, I was looking at that.
Cause there's something about a bald eagle.

(37:47):
doesn't matter where it's at.
just, I don't know if it, it fills you with pride or what it does, but there's somethingabout a bald eagle that is magnificent and intriguing and exciting.
And it's just one of those deals.
Yeah, they're just so majestic.
And it's always funny too, because I grew up in Colorado where I didn't see a lot of them.

(38:08):
Like I saw them on occasion, but it was really rare to see one.
And then I remember seeing one sitting on the ice on Deerfield.
I was horrified because they're like huge.
They're like three feet tall.
I was like, my gosh, that thing could probably eat me.
So I just, remember thinking that too, seeing one for the first time, just how majesticthey are and the way that they hunt is so cool.
They, uh they're just so strong.

(38:28):
It's crazy.
Well, you know, I do have, I'm not trying to get back to, but I just thought of this too,because we're talking about hunting and being peaceful and stuff like this, but a little
bit, but so when you wake up in the morning or the day before that you're going to go outon a trip, do you, does your boyfriend say, what's the weather going to be, Anna?

(38:51):
every day.
I'm like everyone's, I am everyone's personal meteorologist now.
It's so funny.
I'll get texts at, you know, whatever.
I'll be out working at two o'clock in the morning and one of my partners texts me andthey're like, is it really going to snow tomorrow?
And I'm like, yeah, it is really going to snow tomorrow or whatever.
So that's always funny.
um Or the other ones that are funny is like, I'll be talking to somebody.

(39:13):
um
on a traffic stop or whatever and they say, we're headed out towards Pier.
And I'm like, uh-oh, it's getting foggier on Phillips, so be careful.
And they're like, what?
Just dropping random weather facts all the time.
um yeah, they always, everyone always, what's the weather going to be like?
And I'm like, let me check my News Center One weather apps.

(39:33):
that's still the most trusted source of weather for me.
Well, I just didn't know, know, well, it's going to be rainy tomorrow.
We don't even need to worry about going out, you know.
uh
single time because I feel like I do know and it would be a real shame if themeteorologist got caught in the rain on a sunny day, you know what I mean?

(39:56):
Well, you know, it's interesting too, because you said you stayed four years because Igraduated with an American Indian Studies and History degree and I've worked in a lumber
yard and done this all my life.
So at least you used your degrees and I wanted to go work in a museum, but you know, it'sjust...

(40:20):
I love being outdoors too.
didn't want to be cooped up in, in a office.
I like.
That was a huge reason for me, too.
I was like, I have to be outside.
I have to be moving.
um I know that you said like, I felt like I already knew you, but I didn't know anyone,which is super weird, like, because you're pretty much alone in the news studio.

(40:41):
And it's hard to connect with people when they can see and hear and understand you and youdon't know a thing about them.
So I needed that like personal connection through my job to actually.
feel like I was doing anything at all.
Well, yeah, because I mean, that would be difficult for a person that's a, mean, we'lljust say a TV personality that everybody sees you, but you don't see them.

(41:06):
And for us to feel connected because you are trusted, you know what I mean?
It's one of those like, it just, like I said, you were authentic and you just feelconnected.
Like I can trust you and I can tell you for those three years, I never changed a channelin the mornings.
And, but you know, I, I never, you, you've breaching up things that I don't even, nobodywill ever think about.

(41:37):
Like if you're in the newsroom alone or like you don't connect, like this is why I enjoydoing what I'm outside most of the time.
And then when I'm, when I get done, I'm usually outside all the time.
And for you to be stuck in a, I wouldn't say stuck, but I may be stuck in a office or aroom that would, that would kill me.

(42:04):
it was tough.
I'm because I'm such an active person.
mean, I go ah I go to my CrossFit gym almost every day.
I go on hikes.
I go even, you know, on a day where I'm feeling lazy.
I'll just take my stuff up to outdoor campus and use their archery range for a whilebecause I'm not feeling a hike or whatever.
So I have to like be outside.
I have to be actually interacting with people face to face and physically moving tofunction.

(42:31):
Well, and I understand that because I'm one of those two.
I'm, I'm, I like to be in person and I like to talk to people and, uh, you know, you'retalking earlier that you had a, you were good at science and math.
The only thing I'm good at is talking to people.

(42:55):
But I enjoy that.
I was reading a book and it said, you know, some people search for solitude and then whenthey find the solitude, then they search for community.
So you're searching for both at the same time sometimes.
And it's nice to have the good people around you, but it's also nice to be alone at timesso you can get lost in your thoughts.

(43:24):
Yeah, that's and I think to a lot of times, uh I'll either go outside alone, I'll go for ahike alone or whatever.
And then other times, even when you go, at least in my experience, like hunting, fishing,hiking with other people, everybody's kind of on the same wavelength.
Once you hit the outdoors for a few minutes, like after 10 minutes of hiking with yourfriends, a lot of times it just goes silent and you're each processing your own things

(43:47):
individually.
And then you kind of reconvene and talk for a little bit about something.
And then you go back into that pace of
of silence and processing your own stuff again, which that's another thing that theoutdoors kind of brings to people.
I feel like it almost brings us into the same mind mindset when it's a whole group.
So you can go hunting with, you know, three buddies and all three of all four of you arethinking different things and going through different things.

(44:10):
And you only talk for 10 minutes, but you made so much mental progress while you weredoing that.
Well, I agree with you because I have been with one of my best friends all day long and wemight've talked in the morning and you can drive, say you were even going to drive to an
area that you're going to go and you don't say a word for two hours and it nothings, it's,all on the same wavelength.

(44:36):
You know what I mean?
Or, or you, you, you know, we can sit in glass for animals or whatever and
And then they can go and I can, even though we're not together, we kind of, uh, can knowwhat each other's going to do.
I have, I have one friend that we, when like we'll split up and go different areas.

(44:59):
And I bet within 20 minutes, we're back to where without even calling, texting, anythingthat we're heading back to wherever we end up back at the same place.
But within 20 minutes of that, I don't.
And I like that connection, like you said, it's one of those rare connections that veryfew people truly get to see, because I feel in a city, and I'm not trying to knock cities,

(45:24):
but I do, um that you don't get that connection because everybody's in a hurry, scurry,busy mindset.
And when you slow down just a little bit and you talk to, you get to know your friends andknow that they're...
there's that when you're in some tight situations and you know what I mean like decidinghow to stalk an animal or or you know we got stuck or whatever you know kind of thing

(45:55):
that's when you get to know the real people and when you get to know the real people thenthe connection really starts growing and you become it
you become closer, either that or you don't, and you'll never go hunting with that personever again.
Yeah, that rarely happens though, I feel like.
I think too, mean, going outside and being put in those situations, really makes you, emit peels off some layers, you become extremely vulnerable when you're outdoors fishing on

(46:24):
the ice.
Like, I have to have the utmost trust in the people that I'm around when I'm standing onsix to eight inches of ice trying to pull fish through and that kind of thing.
You really are vulnerable, especially
somebody of my stature out in the outdoors, you know, I'm 5'4 and barely 120 pounds.
So uh I have to, I trust people.

(46:45):
feel, we all feel vulnerable out there for different reasons, whether it's like, I'venever harvested an elk before.
I hope this goes well.
And you're out there with your three buddies uh trying to take your first elk.
They know that feeling of nerves and stress and excitement.
So I think too, like when you're just outside, it really, opens your heart and yourvulnerability up.

(47:06):
to your friends and to the Lord sometimes too.
Yeah, I'm a big fan of, I don't know if you follow the outdoor therapist, he's based outof Utah and I'm a big fan of his and I'd really like to talk to him someday, but I believe
that...
I've talked about this before that the outdoors are like, when you're with people, like wewere just talking, it's, there's no four walls that you're sitting in there talking.

(47:36):
I'm not sitting on a couch or laying back talking about my problems, but the conversationscome up because they pop into your head.
And like you said, you can talk about this problem or whatever you might be having if, ifyou are, and everybody gets quiet.
They walk, or you you walk however far you stop, and then everybody has thought about it,and then you can have a good conversation about it, because you get to think, I think that

(48:07):
the, you just get to think about things in a different manner when you're doing that.
So it is outdoor therapy in an aspect, you know?
So, yeah.
So anyway, well, you know,
I truly appreciate you chatting with me.
I will have a couple more questions for you here.

(48:30):
But you will.
Well, the one thing is, is
I guess you kind of told me.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I want to have a family, super, super bad.

(48:51):
That's something that's kind of on the forefront of my plan over the next 10 years or so.
ah I love the job that I'm doing now.
I want to stay in that field for a while.
ah It's something that I feel like I can grow a lot in.
And that's another hard thing with media is in order to grow in media or to move up to getbigger, better jobs, you have to physically move to a bigger city, which for me, I...

(49:14):
I didn't want to move to a big city.
Like I wanted to raise my family somewhere more rural where I could raise my kids aroundhunting, fishing, horses, that kind of thing, going hiking.
So I had no interest ever in moving to a big city.
So I do see myself staying here in like the Western South Dakota area, staying in my job.

(49:35):
I just want to have a family next.
That's always been a dream of mine and that's going to be.
one of the harder ones, I think, to chase for me because that's all uncharted waters.
But that's my next big goal for sure.
And now the final question is, what's the good life to Anna Hamlin?

(49:59):
the good life, like my ideal.
your eye, what, yep, what's your, what makes you, what's the good life?
What do you see, what brings you joy?
What brings that peace?
What brings the best of you?
What's the best of you?
Hmm.

(50:19):
That's such a tough question.
That's why I ask it.
uh
again, I'm a very uh spiritual person and I think most Christians' goals is to get to theend of life where you walk up to heaven and you hear the, done, my good and faithful
servant.
And I think a lot of us think of that as something that we have to achieve by the end oflife, right?

(50:44):
Like that's the ultimate end of life goal, but we don't know when end of life is, nobodydoes.
And...
I think living that way every day is what makes me feel good where I lay my head on thepillow and I think to myself, did I serve everyone around me to the best of my ability
today, whether it was somebody I interacted with through work or one of my friends or evenone of my pets?

(51:06):
Did I make them feel like they were in a safe, comfortable, warm home?
Did I help my friends through their day as I should have?
And that's what makes me feel good at the end of the day is knowing that, yeah, I wentabove and beyond for...
every heart that I interacted with, whether it's on four legs or two or no legs, my petsnake agate.

(51:27):
Did I make them feel valued in today's world?
Because like I talked about before, it's a tough life and we're all just trying to getthrough it at the end of the day.
And no matter what walk of life you've come from, I just want to make you feel like youbelong where you are and that you're mattered or that you do matter and that you are
loved.
So as long as I get to the end of my day and I feel like

(51:49):
I don't have any regrets in the way that I treated somebody, then that's what makes my daya good one.
Well, I love hearing that because I believe, you know, I mean, I think you always, youdecide how your day is going to start by the attitude that you bring.

(52:10):
And I try to tell people every day that they're seen.
I try to tell people that if you are having that bad day, you have one person cheering foryou every day.
And that's me.
And I want you to be the best you.
Yeah.
days we can't be the best us just because of circumstance, but we can be the best us inthose situations.

(52:36):
And, no, go ahead.
You go ahead.
I was gonna say like cheering for somebody else is an excellent way to make your own daygood, even if it's really crummy.
Like I've had so many days that everything is going wrong, horrible things have happenedand I just feel crushed.
But then you get the opportunity to like cheer one person on or make one person giggle alittle bit and it fixes the whole thing.

(52:59):
So I think there's a lot of power in that too of like, just even I've had days which Idon't.
this is gonna sound selfish somehow, but I promise it's not.
Or I'm having like a horrible day and I'll text somebody that I went to the academy withor somebody from college, just be like, hey, it's Anna, I'm thinking of you.
I'm so proud of where you've come.
I just saw that you got engaged a couple of weeks ago and I'm so excited for your future.

(53:22):
And just sending that text makes me feel better.
Like, and I know that it's gonna sound like I am nice to people just to make myself feelgood, but that is a good way to help yourself because then you have that.
that sense of purpose of like, okay, I can help people, I can be here for somebody else.
That is not selfish because I tell people every day, here's the funny thing, I usuallywait till like a Saturday or a Friday, Saturday, and I scroll through my phone.

(53:57):
I mean, I scroll through my contacts and I see somebody I haven't talked to for a while.
I text them, say, about you, have an amazing day, you're amazing person, and then send thetext.
And I've had a few people, you know, more than not say, how did you know I needed thattoday?
And, and those are the good things.

(54:19):
People don't realize what that little text can do to other people and they don't.
And I wish there was more of that, the caring part, because, you know, why are you in myphone?
If I, if I said I was going to, you know, I'm going to text you, I'm going to call you.
Mm-hmm.
then I should keep in contact, you You gotta let people know that you're there, becauseI've talked a few times about that three in the morning person, do we have those?

(55:00):
Who's that person you're gonna call three in the morning?
And I'm not saying 911, I'm saying that, but I'm saying that person like,
I am down and out and I need somebody here right now or let's, we need to go fix this ordo that.
Or I'm in a, I'm in trouble somehow, you know, like whatever I'm, I'm stuck or it doesn'tmatter what it is, but I'm just saying we need to keep, know who those 3 a.m.

(55:29):
people are.
And we also need to, you know, those 10 and 11 p.m.
people too.
need to be able to say, Hey, thinking of you.
because you never know where they're gonna be to.
And that is not selfish.
Well, thanks.
I hope not.
I mean, and I've given my phone number too before to people that have called 911 at threein the morning, given them my work cell number and just been like, hey, if you're feeling

(55:54):
this down, send a text, give us a phone call.
We're here to help you because at the end of the day, especially when you're working in asmall area, Western South Dakota is, everybody knows everybody here.
um
It's our community that we're taking care of.
So it's kind of a situation where I'm like, look, if you find yourself in a tough spot atthree o'clock in the morning, like we've all been there.

(56:21):
Every person in this area has been there at three o'clock in the morning, just having ahard time for whatever reason, whether your car is stuck somewhere and your tire fell off
or like you're just really going through something tough, you know, mentally.
Like we're here for each other.
at the end of the day, we're all walking each other home and
If you're having a tough time at three in the morning, you stumbled and fell down on yourpath.

(56:44):
Like, I think it's, it really is our responsibility to pick each other up, whether you'rea first responder or whether you're just a friend.
Sometimes your friend is your first responder and that's how it should be.
Like you can be, anyone can be a first responder to their friend going through something.
um you know, I sometimes get put in a position where I become someone's friend quicklyjust because I want to help them through whatever they're experiencing.

(57:08):
But
We're all first responders of each other.
When we hit a crisis or something goes wrong, like, I mean, we should all be thinking thatway, that we have the ability to help our friends through that.
doesn't take a professional, it doesn't, I mean, not knocking therapists, but it doesn'talways take a therapist to get through something.
Sometimes it just takes somebody that you like and that you trust listening to you, andthen that can move some huge stones.

(57:36):
Well, it does because the last episode we did was about death and this and that is kind ofa talk and, my friend Ashley was talking about her grandma and making decisions.
And sometimes we just have to trust in God and instead of try to find the answers here onearth.

(57:57):
And, and it, know, I'm, and I'm one of these people that gets so wound up trying to find adoggone answer.
And then when she said that, it was like,
Gosh, you're dumb.
Sometimes you need to think, you call yourself a Christian, but you forgot that you needto trust sometimes that this is the way it's supposed to be.

(58:22):
And when she said that, like, I don't know if you listened to it, but I said, I didn'thave to pay that $250 an hour therapist because, you know, you bring the energy that you
have,
I mean, I'm not comparing me to you, but I think you have an energy and I hope that I havean energy that we bring the positiveness to a situation where people can feel comfortable

(58:49):
and they can, when you can bring that kind of positive, calm energy to somebody and makethem say, I know I'm having a bad day, but it's going to get better.
That's what this world's all about.
That's where we, that's
To me, that's success.
Yeah, and like you said, it doesn't take a therapist to do that per se because I think alot of times you and me included, we can get wound up in our friends present this problem

(59:18):
to us of whatever they're going through and we're like frantically trying to scramble andgather a solution.
never have I talked to a friend and expected them to solve the problem for me.
I just needed somebody to listen and be like, dang, that sounds tough.
I'll walk through that with you.
not, okay, well here's every step you need to take along the way, because ultimately,God's gonna guide me along the way, I'm gonna follow the path that he sets.

(59:40):
But having human beings that'll walk that path with you is something super powerful, andthat's something we're all capable of doing.
You don't have to be a mental health professional to walk through life with a friend.
No, in Simon Sinek, I don't know if you know, do you know Simon Sinek?
Simon said, have you seen the meme about being that eight minute friend?

(01:00:03):
And I told you yesterday, I went to the day of excellence in Rapid City and I neverthought about this too, but I was thinking about that eight minute friend being that eight
minute friend.
if, but they also said you need to be the person.
that the other person wants to pick up the phone for.

(01:00:25):
And that is who I want to be.
I want to be able to know that, you know what, they're gonna talk my ear off about stupidstuff for 10 minutes, but I don't want people to feel that way.
I want them to be able to call me and say, hey, I'm your eight minute friend.
If we have longer, we have longer, but if you need to vent,

(01:00:49):
If you need to say, I'm struggling and you need to just tell me that I wanna be there.
And I don't care if they called me at midnight or anytime, you know what I mean?
It's know that I think that was, and I don't know you can tell me this because I knowwe're going longer now that I ask you the last questions, but that's good.

(01:01:12):
I ah was talking about that 3 a.m.
frame, but.
I was, I questioned myself and I said, is it 3 a.m.
friend?
I think the eight minute person is more important than that 3 a.m.
friend in some aspects because you call me and tell me you need to talk for eight minutes,then let's talk.

(01:01:34):
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
I totally agree.
And I think too, like we can set that example by being that person, like you said, like Iwant my friends, well, not even my friends, especially my friends, but my family and
anybody to, you know, I want my friends of friends to be able to call me if they need to.

(01:01:57):
Cause to me, if you, and this isn't trying to be selfish either, but if you can be thattrusted, that means you're doing good things in this world.
That's the way I feel about it is it's not the selfish part of guess I I'm getting thesecalls, but I get DMS and I get messages and thank you for responding to my DM too.

(01:02:24):
that just a
Cause you get worried about like, no, I'm not a stalker.
I'm really trying to ask you to get in an episode, but.
But.
thanks.
And when you become, you can be relied upon by people you don't even know.
And it's the same with you in law enforcement too.
Like you may never meet these people otherwise, but if you can influence them in anymanner, then we have done our job on earth.

(01:02:53):
You know, um.
I think that's, uh I'm a spiritual person and I read a lot of things and I read a book byuh Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama and they went back with Buddhism and Christianity and

(01:03:14):
had this little talk.
But the Dalai Lama said something and he said, we need to do the right things becausethey're right, not just for us.
And I believe that.
Oh yeah, a hundred percent.
And you brought up that, that point too of like the, the big goal that I have with my jobis just to help people feel safe in whatever they're walking through in life, no matter

(01:03:36):
whether that's some kind of like crash or, you know, catastrophic accident or somethinglike that, or just going through something mentally that's, that's really deep because
life is scary.
Like it doesn't feel safe most of the time.
And to
to be able to provide that feeling of safety, like, okay, it's gonna be okay, she's got myback and we're gonna get through this.

(01:03:58):
That's something that not only in my job, but just something in life that I wanna providefor people where they feel secure in the world and they feel safe in what they're doing
because our own minds get in the way of that so much, right?
Like you think, okay, well, I've got this, I'm gonna go hunting.
And then you second guess everything that you're doing.
You're like, wait, well.

(01:04:18):
is this the right spot?
Is this where I should be going?
Especially for me when I'm doing public land spot and stocks, I second guess everythingthat I'm like, well, maybe they're not at BIPAC TOLA today.
What if they're out by Deerfield?
Should I even be here?
What if this isn't the right round?
Should I have bought a more high powered rifle?
Like you start to question everything and ah second guess everything.
like just to give people confidence in what they're doing in life, that's really powerfultoo.

(01:04:43):
And I think that's, that's the biggest thing is confidence.
And it took me a long time to be confident within who I am personally, because sometimesyou question yourself and then I, I don't know if it's age or what, but then I stopped
caring about what people thought and I'm doing, I'll do the right thing.

(01:05:04):
Even if it's questionable in that other people don't seem to like that person.
But if you give a chance.
to that person, how do you know that won't affect them?
You know, like...
what time it's actually gonna change their life or what time they're actually going toturn things around.
I think too, speaking more of like on uh the friendship level of like when you have afriend that's struggling and they're just depressed and sad and having a hard time, you,

(01:05:35):
at least some people I'm assuming have been guilty of being like, well, I've alreadytalked to him 10 times, like I can't help.
But it could have been the 11th time that would have.
really helped them see something that they hadn't seen before, gained a new perspectiveand gotten out of that hole.
So yeah, I totally agree.
Exactly.
And, and so I just think this is a, you know, I think we're finding our way and I thinkwe're finding our why.

(01:06:00):
And I just wish I would have been your age and knowing what my why was in my way at thesame time, because I appreciate what you're doing.
And I appreciate that you can, here's the other thing I think you do.
And I don't think you understand this at times because of

(01:06:22):
who you are, but I look at the females that you are influencing that you don't even knowbecause you are chasing your dreams.
And that's very, very cool to me that you put it out there.
I mean, I've talked to a couple of people and I said, I'm gonna go do an episode with you.

(01:06:43):
they told me how their daughters were looking at you in a sense.
They're like high school kids, aged daughters and how you chased your dreams.
You're, you, you kind of had your, you were following your directions.
You thought you needed to go and you're influencing young females in this area more thanyou think.

(01:07:08):
And people need to know that I, I, I'm not saying this, but in a manner, we talk, it'sfunny in the day of excellence, people don't really know who they influence.
Mm-mm.
And he brought this question up.
And I think you need to know that you influence a lot of young females in this area too.

(01:07:30):
That's really important to me.
Like that means a lot because that's the group that I want to influence.
I mean, it's tough to be a girl in a lot of fields, but especially some of the ones thatI've been in, um it's just difficult to be a woman in STEM or a woman in um a first
responder field.
That can be difficult too.
And not because of the training or anything else, but just because there's not a lot ofthem.

(01:07:55):
Like it's hard to find somebody to look up to.
It's hard to find a mentor.
when there's just not a lot of them around.
um So that's something that I really want to focus on is encouraging girls and um women ofall ages really to get involved because I remember seeing, this really changed my
perspective about doing stuff outdoors.
um I saw an Instagram reel one day just aimlessly scrolling as I did.

(01:08:20):
And sometimes I think God just pops things up onto my screen when he's like, hey, look atthis.
And it was a real, and this girl said,
I hate that I'm afraid to do everything, but I always have fun when I go and do stuff.
So I'm just going to do things afraid.
And that's something that it changed my life hearing that just just do it afraid.
Like you're always going to be scared or anxious to try something new because you feelsilly.

(01:08:41):
Like I feel I felt ridiculous.
The first few times I went fishing, I remember going to Pakhtola like my second time I hadever gone fishing on my own.
Everything got tangled.
My hooks like tangled into the weight.
It got stuck under a rock.
I couldn't get it out.
I had to cut my line.
And then I'm sitting there and I'm like,
I never even learned how to tie a fish hook onto a line.
What am I supposed to do now?
And I just walked up to some guy on the shore and I was like, hey, uh I had to cut my linebecause I got it stuck and I don't know what to do now.

(01:09:09):
And he was like, let me help you.
And he taught me how to tie a fish hook onto a line and helped me get my new weight backon and that kind of thing and gave me a couple tips, which pretty much anyone is willing
to do.
That's like if you're fishing or if you're
at outdoor campus shooting your bow, anyone there is beyond willing to help you developthat skill because they love it and who doesn't love sharing their passion with somebody.

(01:09:32):
So I had to get comfortable with just being afraid of things and figuring it out, whichagain, that gives you so much power of life in general where like, I didn't know how to go
fishing at all when I first started.
Like I said, I got lost, I had to ask people for help and they had to show me.
And now I just do things scared because I was like, I want to get into archery.

(01:09:52):
And then I was like, wait, I don't have a bow.
I don't have an arrows.
I don't have a quiver.
I don't even know where to start.
So um I just had to go into it and say, well, I'm going to feel really dumb for a fewmonths while I figure this whole thing out.
And to not be afraid of feeling silly while you learn something new, you just have to doit scared and you have to do it feeling silly because that's where everyone starts at some

(01:10:13):
point.
Well, I'm still scared and silly and still shooting a bow and I've been doing it foryears.
But, but here's the interesting thing, what you just said.
And I don't know if it's, uh, everybody, everybody seems to, and it's, it doesn't, itdoesn't matter if it's kid, if it's a female, if it's a new person, it seems to me in this

(01:10:38):
area of the world, we'll say everybody's helpful.
If you're having a problem and they'll give you your tip, their little tip.
And sometimes it's not right, but sometimes they'll help you out, get you through theproblem.
then somebody else will tell you if you're not afraid to learn from everybody else,you'll, you know what I mean?

(01:11:00):
This, this, this area is just so amazing to me that, you know, like I told you about totalarchery challenge.
We I've had.
A family, the mom said, can you take my son?
This was before you had to have tea times and stuff, but can you take my son?

(01:11:20):
And yep, well, and it's amazing to me that you trust that she walked along with us, butyou just trust us.
Let's just go, you know, we're just going to go down, go through the courses.
And, and that's the cool thing about this area is most people are helpful.

(01:11:40):
Most people are friendly.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
and they're helpful with whatever they do.
So, but I don't know if you need to get going.
So I'll let you get going here, but, uh, I'll, I just want to thank you for coming on.
And this has been a wonderful conversation.

(01:12:03):
And I hope I would like to have a, I mean, we talked a little bit earlier and maybe we'llhave a recap of a few things, hopefully.
And.
do that.
And it would be wonderful because I would like to get you and Melissa together.
And uh I think you would enjoy that time too.
Cause she's, she is really take taking, taking archery to a next level.

(01:12:26):
And actually this is funny, Melissa, it's Melissa Bardfield and we've done, I've done aepisode with her, but um she has a little van and no.
Uh, geez, now I can't even think of the type of van, the, uh anyway, she has a sprintervan.

(01:12:50):
was trying to get, wait, but she has a sprinter van and she went to every total archerychallenge when you're driving across America.
That's awesome.
I want to do that with the national parks in a Sprinter van someday.
Yes, and she She in it and she loved archery and she just took it up She's a that we theycall it that an adult onset hunter and actually she drew South Dakota this year and we're

(01:13:15):
gonna go hunting together but it and I think you would have a good time.
So we'll have a recap here sometime, but I want to thank you for coming on and Stay intouch Most importantly stay safe
will do.
And thank you for what you do.

(01:13:35):
Yeah, thank you.
And thank you for being the authentic, just good person.
I appreciate that.
means a lot.
So anyway, Dode Die Rusty Nation, as always, keep chasing your dreams, being the best you,and don't die rusty.