Ever since my social media began to grow, I've thought about making two things: a youtube channel and a blog. As with everyone, life happens and I put them behind other events that I felt were more pressing at the time. Now, in my final year of college, I'm taking a reporting class. This class requires its students to create a blog of their own choice. For me, this is a blessing. It gives me more incentive to start on what I have put on the back burner for far too long.
I am also learning how to edit my own videos, so hopefully a YouTube channel will be coming soon!
In this blog, I would like to discuss a few things that I've felt strongly about for the most part of my life and some things that have been brought to my attention when my social media pages became more prominent to the rest of the world.
I've been an outdoors woman since before I was old enough to understand the meaning of the word. My family brought me up to love wildlife, but to hunt them as well. They taught me to respect nature, how to utilize what the land provides us as a means of survival, and how to enjoy the simplicity of life's purest elements.
Hunting, fishing, trapping, and gardening have been traditions of my family for generations. These are traditions I do not intend to break, and ones that I will put forth my utmost efforts to pass on to my children.
My father taught me clean a deer before I ever harvested one for myself. This taught me the true purpose of hunting. Although I will always take joy in the thrill of the hunt, I will never take for granted the meat the animals we take provide us with. I was taught to respect these animals, to always take an ethical shot that results in the least amount of suffering, and to utilize every part of the animal that I can manage.
There is more that goes into hunting than just the kill shot. This is one of the topics I would like to discuss in this blog, along with several others such as the threat of anti-hunters and women in the outdoors.
I've received insults of the most degrading manner along with death threats from those who oppose hunting. In my blog I would like to share these experiences with those who may have the same problem.
In my experience, I have learned that it is best to block the antis who obviously have no intent other than to upset those they criticize. It is not worth arguing with these types of people because they refuse to reason with facts. They have no interest in learning our side of the story, so there's no point in trying to enlighten them when they refuse to acknowledge any truths that we may reveal to them.
As hunters and fishers, we need to support each other in this sport we all love in order to keep it alive and under enough protection to make it indestructible in the hands of the antis. It is easy to disagree about small things among ourselves, but we always need to remember that we are a small group of people who believe in the same bigger picture: conservation. Although we may disagree at times, we must stick together to protect our way of living as a whole.
I was raised into a world centered around the outdoors. Now that I have more exposure to he outside world, I realize that many people, women especially, were not as lucky as I to be brought up in such a setting. There are many women who would love to have the opportunity to get started in the outdoors but are not sure where to start. Many even feel intimidated because hunting and fishing have always been known as a "man's sports." I'm here to tell you that we have the ability to redefine the word as women.
Over this blog, I will share experiences I've had as a woman in the outdoors. I've been underestimated many times, but I have learned that being underestimated can often work in my favor. It has given me the chance to prove myself as an equal to any man in this industry, regardless of my gender.
I will use this blog as a page to share with y'all some of my stories (hunting, fishing, noodling, etc), how I got started in every sport I now feel is a part of my life, and how much social media has impacted me so far. I would also love to help y'all in any way I can, whether you're having trouble with anti-hunters, or if you're a woman in the outdoors either wanting to get started in it all, or you're just here to relate with another woman who is in about the same boat. Thank y'all for reading! Stay tuned, I will be posting a new entry every week.
Facebook: Hannah Barron Outdoors
Instagram: hannahbarron96
