At the start of January, Youth Odyssey teamed up with Majesty Outdoors again to give one of our deserving youth leaders, Ariel, the chance of a lifetime to go on a hunting weekend and have new experiences while pushing herself past what even she thought she was capable of. In Youth Odyssey we call that the growth zone.
The growth zone is when someone pushes past their comfort zone and tries something different than what they are used to doing. A step past the growth zone is called the freak out zone and that is where you have pushed yourself too far and fear settles in.
Though Ariel did get close to her freak out zone a few times, through help and encouragement Ariel had a successful weekend hanging out in her growth zone.
Ariel started her Majesty Outdoors process with a visit to Cavender’s Boot City to get outfitted for the upcoming trip and to help break the ice. There was quite a crowd present: Film crew, Majesty Outdoors staff, Youth Odyssey staff, and the Cavendars staff. The Cavendars staff were busy running around the store finding Ariel shoes and clothes for her to try on. As on can imagine, this was a bit overwhelming for Ariel but she took it in stride and, unsurprisingly, took all of two minutes to find herself an awesome pair of boots that she now “barely takes off, and wears them everywhere.” When it comes to Ariel, she’s an efficient shopper and knows what she wants and appreciates simple yet functional attire. This made the clothes shopping pretty amusing to watch since the girls who were grabbing her tops and pants kept bringing her studded, rhinestone and pink pieces for her to look at. Ariel politely turned them down and after explaining her style aesthetic they were able to her find some great pieces and outfits to prepare her for the hunting trip and normal everyday wear. At the end of the shopping process you could tell that Ariel was feeling pretty good with how she looked and was starting to relax more in front of the camera.
From Cavender’s they all headed to Texas Roadhouse to fuel up for the drive to the Tipps 5T Ranch in Beeville, Texas. According to Ariel, on the first night she “was asking all of these questions about deer and the area; where’s the best place to hit [the deer] because I didn’t want to hurt it and wanted to do a good clean shot.” When she told me this I wasn’t surprised by that either. Before her Majesty Outdoors experience started Ariel was extremely nervous and before she began her journey she “had a nightmare about shooting the deer in the leg and then it ran off and they couldn’t find it.” She was also “really scared because [she] was going to be in an unfamiliar place, doing things [she] had never done before and surrounded by people [she] didn’t know very well.” I feel those are some pretty normal thoughts to have about something like this, but I wanted to know how the experience was in reality and, as Ariel’s face lit up she said “it was really fun; everyone there made me feel welcome and were so nice and answered all my questions and made me feel really comfortable.” Then Ariel got on a roll and started talking about what happened the next morning.
She made sure to stress how cold it was that morning and that she was given a “camo marshmallow suit to wear while hunting” (a heavily insulated jacket and pants). The first thing they covered was gun safety. Ariel was “really nervous” since she had never even seen a gun in real life. They went over the parts of the gun, how to line up the shot and use the scope along with how to ease on the trigger and to “clear your mind and breath.” They did a few practice shots before giving her live ammo. After Ariel shot her first live round the noise and recoil scared her but, by the time she had completed her three live ammo practice shots, she “thought it was super awesome.” Ariel told me how “the scope had been sighted at an inch above center and [her] three shots were all nearly exactly one inch above center.” I was impressed and then she told be that she actually had the target on the wall in her room and went to get it and show me. Sure enough the shots were in a nice grouping and just about an inch above center. It is an impressive feat even with an experienced shooter but for her first time “everyone, including [Ariel], was impressed.” At that point everyone agreed that she was ready to go to the blind. Ariel was with Lauren, the daughter of the owner of Tipps Ranch, and they went out to the deer blind and didn’t shoot anything but were getting her comfortable with the situation and the blind and what to expect when she would be taking the shot for real. Ariel was glad they didn’t attempt to shoot anything that first day because she “needed time to process and get her head around the fact that she would be shooting at a live target.”
The next morning they were back in the blind and checking out the deer to see which one was going to be “The Deer.” The day before they had spotted a buck that looked like a likely candidate but, that morning, Ariel changed her mind when she saw a buck with an asymmetrical rack that she thought looked particularly cool. Then it was time to get down to business and Ariel “was so nervous” and started “crying because there was so much pressure to hit it right.” After getting up her courage, Ariel took the shot and hit the deer; “it didn’t drop like [she] expected it to and, instead, it jumped and ran a few feet so [she] thought it was hurt and had missed the kill shot.” Then Ariel got more upset and they had to showed her “the footage a few times and in “super slow motion” so [she] could see the shot” that she made and was reassured that it was, indeed, a good, clean shot. Everyone congratulated her and they went out to go and see the buck up close and took pictures with it. Ariel expressed how hard it was to hold up because it was heavier than she expected.
After all of the excitement, the deer was taken to be processed while Ariel got to meet Lauren’s pet pig, Miss Piggy. Ariel loved it and “they got to feed Miss Piggy tons of food” and pet her; the pig reminded her of pet dog. Bill Blodgett, the founder of Majesty Outdoors, took that time to talk to Ariel about hog population control and their effects on the natural environment. They took her to look at some of the areas that have been torn up by them and Ariel was “shocked at how big some of the holes were.” They had saved “the deer guts to go hunting for hogs later that evening.” While they were out hunting for hogs there was a “cool machine that they used to make a series of different noises to get different types of animals to show up.” Ariel didn’t end up shooting any of the hogs because she “was thinking about how [she] didn’t have any room for it [in her freezer] and the deer was large enough that [she] didn’t need the hog and it would’ve been wasteful” if she’d have shot it.
It was obvious, based on the way she was talking about her experience, that she had an amazing time at the Tipps Ranch and with her Majesty Outdoors hunt but I wanted to know what her favorite part about the trip was. Ariel said that it was “after she took the shot and then got to see [the deer] up close.” She was really proud that she was able to do it with a good, clean shot but when she saw how big the buck was it made her even more excited. I was so proud of Ariel that she was able to feel so confident afterwards because she had previously mentioned that the most difficult part for her was bringing herself to “pull the trigger because [she] kept questioning and thinking if [she] was strong enough to take the shot.” Ariel didn’t “trust [her]self to make a good, clean shot.” I then asked how she was able to get the confidence to go through with it and Ariel said that she “thought back on what she had done previously and how well she hit the target.” She remembered to “breath and to clear her mind” and then went for it.
I asked if she’d do it again given the opportunity and, without hesitation, Ariel said “I would; on one hand [she’d] want to do the same exact thing and on the other hand [she’d] like to see what more can [she] do.” Ariel “really enjoyed it” and wants to “thank Bill for the billionth time” for the opportunity. Ariel learned that she “second guesses [her]self a lot on things that [she] can definitely do” and that she needs to “trust [her]self more.” Before this experience, Ariel said that she “didn’t have a ton of self confidence” but after this, she reflected back, and said “I’m actually really cool, I did this, I got to do more than most people get to do. I got all these new clothes, and had a whole team of people looking out for me. The clothes helped me look ,on the outside, as cool and confident as I feel on the inside now that I’ve done this.” Ariel mentioned that “Lauren, from Tipps Ranch, was really encouraging and didn’t know if she would’ve done it had [she] not had her support.” Ariel followed up by saying “I am stronger than I think, and gained self-confidence, made new friends with a bunch of cool people from the ranch and had an awesome experience.”
Before her trip with Majesty Outdoors, Ariel didn’t know anything about hunting and the all of the reasons behind why it is done. After, she told me, “when done humanely and responsibly, it can be a respectable sport.”
Ariel’s ultimate goal is to go to college and focus on “anything with information technology.” She told me that she is already taking college classes in “software development and coding languages like Python and C++ because [she] wants to work at Google” one day.
I have no doubt that with this experience under her belt and realizing that she is capable of doing anything she sets her mind to, that goal is attainable. Having self-confidence and believing in ones self can catapult them anywhere and now that Ariel is gaining more and more with every new challenge we, Youth Odyssey and Majesty Outdoors, are excited to see where she goes from here.
