By Jessica Marshall
With wind breezing against her face and the smell of fresh cut hay, sophomore Anna Simmons becomes one with her horse, Magic. In the saddle, with reins in her hand, Simmons escapes from a reality.
“I ride about once or twice a week because the barn he is at, Five Forks, is about an hour away. I wish I rode more,” Simmons said.
Simmons became interested in horses after moving back to Prince George after living in New York.
“One time [after moving back] I saw a big cow farm and noticed that they only had one horse and thought to myself, ‘ooh, I love horses now.’ Since then, I have loved horses,” Simmons said.
With such a strong affection towards horses, Simmons’ aunt and uncle decided to invest a horse from Simmons to call her own.
“I have an Appaloosa, and his name is Magic, but I don’t know why I call him that. Whenever I go see him, he always looks at me like, ‘Do you have any treats?’ He is a very calm and curious horse,” Simmons said. “We had to take Magic to another stable because he needed to get away from the mare we have. Knowing him, he would have tried to mate with her. He thinks he is Mr. Stud-muffin, but he is really not.”
Along with four horses, Simmons also has two dogs and three cats.
“Their names [the cats] are Max, Nancy, and Shadow. Shadow is the one that is evil to me. My dog, Maddie, is a Golden Retriever, and she’s big and fat,” Simmons said.
Aside from riding horses, Simmons also enjoys other various hobbies that other students might have in common.
“I like watching television and I like to swim, read, play games, shop but it depends on who is doing the shopping, go to the beach, and paint,” Simmons says.
But there is one thing that makes Simmons different from all the other students. Simmons is a burned victim.
At the age of one and a half, Simmons was burned in a house fire. Her brother received minor facial burns.
After the incident, Simmons experienced different living arrangements.
“I used to have my family that took care of me right after I was born, but after the fire, they did not take care of me like they were supposed to,” Simmons said. “So then I was put in a foster home, and then another foster home, and then I moved to New York. Now I live here with my aunt and uncle.”
Though Simmons lived in different areas and different families, Simmons believes it was for the best.
“I don’t think my life would have been any different. I never knew what they [my parents] were going to do next. They were not going to do what they were supposed to do to take care of me,” Simmons said.
Though a sophomore now, Simmons still lives with a burning fear.
“I do definitely still have a fear of fire and even getting close to it and even putting logs into a wood-burning stove. I’m afraid my clothes could catch on fire again, but that’s why I wear gloves whenever I’m near fire,” Simmons said.
At a very early age, Simmons became a victim of one of the biggest problems facing schools across the nation. Bullying.
“At first, people just started teasing me, and it was mainly name calling. But then I would tell them what happened, and I guess they didn’t mind as much,” Simmons said. “It did bother me at first and hurt my feelings. I just think it is wrong that people judge you before they know you.”
With such a long history of being bullying, Simmons deals with it in one certain way.
“I usually just ignore it and I never really talk to anyone about it,” Simmons said.
There is currently a zero tolerance policy for bullying in place. Even with this policy, Simmons feels more could be done to stop it.
“Not very many teachers have stepped in and tried to help me, but I would like them too. I could explain my situation to them and they could explain it to the students,” Simmons said. “I’m usually not comfortable when people come up and ask me questions about my past. It makes me uncomfortable.”
One memory of being bullied stands out in Simmons’ mind.
“There was one girl in eighth and ninth grade who was really mean to me. She would always call me mean names. She would be nice to me one day and then she would be mean the next day. She never gave up, but a teacher did finally stop her,” Simmons said.
Though she experienced bullying from a young age and still does, Simmons believes bullying should never and can never be justified.
“To me, it just does not seem right. You need to get to know the person first before you judge them. But then again, you should not judge a person at all,” Simmons said. “Everybody deserves to be treated equal and everyone deserves a second chance.”
In order to escape from reality of school and bullying, Simmons depends on her horse, Magic.
“I ride because it is fun and I enjoy it,” Simmons said. “ If I have a bad day at school, I want to go ride. It relieves stress and makes me feel better.”