Everybody's Got Somebody To Thank

I heard a song by Logan Mize called "Somebody To Thank". That resulted in the inspiration for this blog post. The song ends with "no matter who you are everybody's got somebody to thank" that very line got me thinking who do I have to thank for my growth as an outdoorsman and better a teacher of conservation.

The first person is what is usually the first person from a lot of outdoorsmen, and that is my father. He taught me a lot about paying attention to outdoors and enjoy my presence in it. He also taught me through his mistakes that he has openly mentioned making sure I bring my son with me and not to push him out of it by lack of presence. Letting him grow in nature and letting him make his own mistakes in the best way for him to truly understand the passion.

My father has always encouraged me to chase my passions, whether that was Backcountry Hunters & Anglers or FFA in high school. The constant support for whatever idea or whatever half-ass plan I have he has supported.

Kevin, how could I not talk about you. He has taught me and is still teaching me much more than he knows. Kevin has always emphasized the importance of knowing the cause and effect. Understanding this one simple thing will help you understand people better and animals even more. Understanding your actions seeming small, causes a ripple that may affect others' decisions or in the hunting world going home empty-handed. This nugget of information though seeming small to him in the conversation has had a vast impact on my life.

The last person is Ryan, what would I do without you. You have shown me what it means to have a community or tribe supporting you. Your compassion for others and support for them is off the charts. This honestly has helped me understand sometimes that the bigger picture is group success more important than sole success. Learning this one thing has opened up a whole world of people I never thought I would meet.