I was born early in the morning on March 19, 1993 in Orlando, Florida. My father was a psychiatrist at the time, and my mother was a stay-at-home mom with my two older sisters Amanda and Natalie. I do not remember much of living in Florida, because about a year later my family moved from that big tropical state to Pocatello, Idaho. There my younger brother Jacob was born not too much later. Almost two years later, we moved to Blackfoot, Idaho. There my youngest sister, Rachel, was born. All of my siblings are about two years apart. It was in Blackfoot that my memories of childhood begin.
We lived in a quaint yellow house, with a large backyard with a swing set, a trampoline, an irrigation ditch, a rope swing, a sandbox, a garden, and many trees and bushes. It was a child’s dream. My earliest memories consist of playing in the irrigation water and in the sandbox, or pretending to be animals in the bushes and on the swing set. We had a lovely neighborhood. We also had many animals including goats, dogs, cats, bunnies, and birds. We spent five years in that house, and my favorite memories are associated with it.
After those blissful five years, we moved to Snake River. My siblings and I were devastated. My father was getting into the education world as a career, and he went to Snake River to become a principal. The house that we rented was huge. It had two floors and a basement, and it was beautiful and white. It had a very large, green yard, with a field in the back and a large shed in front. There was a big jungle gym in the back and irrigation ditches as well, our favorite. This house came to be one of my favorites as well. We called it our petting zoo house. We had dogs, cats, goats, chickens, pigs, peacocks, llamas, bunnies, birds, and we even got two horses. This was a huge monumental period of my life. Horses were my obsession, my dream, and it was in this house I received my first horse, a sorrel horse named Captain, as a gift on my birthday. That is a cherished memory. We also got another white horse named Buddy not too long after. It was my dream come true. In that house I really began to grow. I was old enough that I remember most of my experiences there. I really began to develop into myself. I had many precious and fun experiences with my family and my siblings, most of them associated with our animals. Our stories and experiences of animals is one of the biggest things that makes my family, my family.
I was also baptized in Snake River. Though my memory is clouded, I will never forget the feeling right before, during, and immediately after my baptism. It is similar to what a lot of people say. I remember feeling lightweight, bright, shiny, very happy, and I felt a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart. I was so excited to be a member of the church. Not long after that birthday, my family moved again. This was a difficult move for us, as we were all starting to gain close friends in school. We packed up and headed to Arco, Idaho. At that age, Arco felt like the most isolated place in the world. My father was going to be the superintendent there. We lived in a fun, small house for a year or so, but had to move to a trailer home later. I do not remember why. In Arco I was able to participate in more things with my horses, like 4-H and the Fourth of July parade. We also tried new and fun things like a homemade ice skating rink and snowmobiles. It was in Arco my first horse died, and my second horse was sold. That was rough for me, as I was still young and very attached.
After two or so years of living in Arco, my father wanted to apply for a superintendent position in Rexburg, Idaho. He was confident he would get the job, and sot the rest of us moved to Rexburg in anticipation. He did not get the job though, and so he remained in Arco while we lived in Rexburg for about a year and a half. On the weekends he would come up to visit. That was difficult on us, especially my father. Our home in Rexburg was situated next to a lovely field and a large canal, which provided the source of our entertainment whenever the weather permitted. We explored and played all day in the water and in the forest and field behind it. I was in my teens, and the pressures of middle school had begun. It was a transitioning stage.
Finally my father gained a job in Rupert, Idaho as the superintendent. While I was excited that our family would be together, I was sad to move yet again and leave the friendships I was just barely beginning to develop, along with my first few crushes. I was scared to move. The only thing that made we willing to go was our new home. It was a big house, and we each had our own room! That was a novelty compared to our last few houses. We had a nice yard with a trampoline and a nice hot tub, and later on a pool as well. We also had pasture for another horse. That was what really got me through another move. My next horse we bought not long after we settled into Rupert. She was an Appaloosa named Shadow, and she was my world.
Rupert changed me as an individual. I learned harsh realities about school, society, and other people, especially teenage girls and the idea of popularity. I was not popular. It did not bother me at first, but one can only last for so long. Those two years of school in Rupert were full of tears, struggles, and loneliness. I was still trying to adjust to being the “new girl” all over again, and it was rough trying to make friends when the kids of that area had been friends with their group ever since kindergarten. I learned many valuable lessons about friendship, reading body language, being kind, and respecting others.
About two years into living in Rupert, tensions began to rise in the family. I had always known that my parents fought, but I thought that was what parents did. This year though, it worsened rapidly. It did not worry me as much as it should have. But soon, it was announced that we were moving again to Salem, Utah. As much as I had struggled with school, I was upset by the idea of moving again. The only comfort I found was that my grandparents and close cousins lived in Salem, Utah. I did not know why we were moving, but we were, and my father wasn’t coming with. He said he had not been able to find a job in time, and that he would, and he would be back with us. It seemed similar to the Arco to Rexburg move. This time though, something was different. I could not put my finger on it, but part of it came from the way my father sobbed almost hysterically when we left that day to drive down to Utah with the moving van, and he stayed behind.
Later that year, as I was a young freshman in High School, I learned that my parents had divorced. That was, once again, a rough time for me because my home life was stressful and full of trials, and I was struggling to make friends and feel normal again in school. Since an entire paper could be devoted to that one trial of my parents divorcing, I will summarize. We stayed for two years in Utah, going through so many ups and downs with my parent’s divorce. It seemed as though my life was collapsing, and yet the world was revolving around me like nothing had ever happened. We traveled back and forth between Salem and Rupert on the weekends to visit my dad. Yet, I changed through that experience, and through my own personal spiritual journey. I fell in love with that area, and developed the closest friendships and enjoyed my year of school more immensely than I ever had.
It was in those years that I blossomed. I became who I really wanted to be. I grew out of the shy “new girl” character I had been before. I did sports, was in a play or two, joined choir, had my first kiss, my first school dance, a job at a horse ranch, and took English riding lessons. It was heaven for me. My dreams were flying sky high. Eventually, things with my parent’s relationship worsened even more. Just when I felt like I couldn’t take it, something changed. I do not know what, but my mother and father started dating again. In a short period of time, they remarried, and we headed back to Rupert, Idaho.
That move was a crushing mix of sadness and anger for leaving a place I had come to love and fit in so well, and feelings of happiness for a family put back together. Although it was yet another harsh trial, I followed my family back to Rupert. I was so scared to go back. The memories of my experience there threatened me. I was stunned by the change in me and in others. My last two years of high school were wonderful. I developed the best friends that I still talk to, and I had the greatest array of experiences ranging from choir trips, to working for the Idaho State Senate, to volunteering for a Youth Ranch, to crazy, wild, teenage fun with huge groups of friends at proms and other activities, especially graduation. I watched my siblings grow and leave the house, and my relationship with them and my parents deepened as I grew to understand and appreciate them and life more.
And so currently, I am two years out of that High School and recently married to the sweetest man I could ever hope for. College has been a great, but hard, journey. It is rewarding and challenging, but it teaches a person things you would never learn otherwise. I am now an adult, and I understand my role in this life and the importance of my actions. I am going to complete college with a degree in Recreation Management with an emphasis in Therapeutic Recreation. I am going to help others through my passion, horses. And as I look back I realize that my life, with all the trials of moving and divorcing, and the experiences with friends, family, and animals, has helped me become the person I am today. It has also prepared in the best way possible to be able to look forward to the future with bright eyes of hope and a heart of gladness. I know who I was and who I am today, and because of my personal history I know I can be someone great!
Olivia M. Grover
- love family
We lived in a quaint yellow house, with a large backyard with a swing set, a trampoline, an irrigation ditch, a rope swing, a sandbox, a garden, and many trees and bushes. It was a child’s dream. My earliest memories consist of playing in the irrigation water and in the sandbox, or pretending to be animals in the bushes and on the swing set. We had a lovely neighborhood. We also had many animals including goats, dogs, cats, bunnies, and birds. We spent five years in that house, and my favorite memories are associated with it.
After those blissful five years, we moved to Snake River. My siblings and I were devastated. My father was getting into the education world as a career, and he went to Snake River to become a principal. The house that we rented was huge. It had two floors and a basement, and it was beautiful and white. It had a very large, green yard, with a field in the back and a large shed in front. There was a big jungle gym in the back and irrigation ditches as well, our favorite. This house came to be one of my favorites as well. We called it our petting zoo house. We had dogs, cats, goats, chickens, pigs, peacocks, llamas, bunnies, birds, and we even got two horses. This was a huge monumental period of my life. Horses were my obsession, my dream, and it was in this house I received my first horse, a sorrel horse named Captain, as a gift on my birthday. That is a cherished memory. We also got another white horse named Buddy not too long after. It was my dream come true. In that house I really began to grow. I was old enough that I remember most of my experiences there. I really began to develop into myself. I had many precious and fun experiences with my family and my siblings, most of them associated with our animals. Our stories and experiences of animals is one of the biggest things that makes my family, my family.
I was also baptized in Snake River. Though my memory is clouded, I will never forget the feeling right before, during, and immediately after my baptism. It is similar to what a lot of people say. I remember feeling lightweight, bright, shiny, very happy, and I felt a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart. I was so excited to be a member of the church. Not long after that birthday, my family moved again. This was a difficult move for us, as we were all starting to gain close friends in school. We packed up and headed to Arco, Idaho. At that age, Arco felt like the most isolated place in the world. My father was going to be the superintendent there. We lived in a fun, small house for a year or so, but had to move to a trailer home later. I do not remember why. In Arco I was able to participate in more things with my horses, like 4-H and the Fourth of July parade. We also tried new and fun things like a homemade ice skating rink and snowmobiles. It was in Arco my first horse died, and my second horse was sold. That was rough for me, as I was still young and very attached.
After two or so years of living in Arco, my father wanted to apply for a superintendent position in Rexburg, Idaho. He was confident he would get the job, and sot the rest of us moved to Rexburg in anticipation. He did not get the job though, and so he remained in Arco while we lived in Rexburg for about a year and a half. On the weekends he would come up to visit. That was difficult on us, especially my father. Our home in Rexburg was situated next to a lovely field and a large canal, which provided the source of our entertainment whenever the weather permitted. We explored and played all day in the water and in the forest and field behind it. I was in my teens, and the pressures of middle school had begun. It was a transitioning stage.
Finally my father gained a job in Rupert, Idaho as the superintendent. While I was excited that our family would be together, I was sad to move yet again and leave the friendships I was just barely beginning to develop, along with my first few crushes. I was scared to move. The only thing that made we willing to go was our new home. It was a big house, and we each had our own room! That was a novelty compared to our last few houses. We had a nice yard with a trampoline and a nice hot tub, and later on a pool as well. We also had pasture for another horse. That was what really got me through another move. My next horse we bought not long after we settled into Rupert. She was an Appaloosa named Shadow, and she was my world.
Rupert changed me as an individual. I learned harsh realities about school, society, and other people, especially teenage girls and the idea of popularity. I was not popular. It did not bother me at first, but one can only last for so long. Those two years of school in Rupert were full of tears, struggles, and loneliness. I was still trying to adjust to being the “new girl” all over again, and it was rough trying to make friends when the kids of that area had been friends with their group ever since kindergarten. I learned many valuable lessons about friendship, reading body language, being kind, and respecting others.
About two years into living in Rupert, tensions began to rise in the family. I had always known that my parents fought, but I thought that was what parents did. This year though, it worsened rapidly. It did not worry me as much as it should have. But soon, it was announced that we were moving again to Salem, Utah. As much as I had struggled with school, I was upset by the idea of moving again. The only comfort I found was that my grandparents and close cousins lived in Salem, Utah. I did not know why we were moving, but we were, and my father wasn’t coming with. He said he had not been able to find a job in time, and that he would, and he would be back with us. It seemed similar to the Arco to Rexburg move. This time though, something was different. I could not put my finger on it, but part of it came from the way my father sobbed almost hysterically when we left that day to drive down to Utah with the moving van, and he stayed behind.
Later that year, as I was a young freshman in High School, I learned that my parents had divorced. That was, once again, a rough time for me because my home life was stressful and full of trials, and I was struggling to make friends and feel normal again in school. Since an entire paper could be devoted to that one trial of my parents divorcing, I will summarize. We stayed for two years in Utah, going through so many ups and downs with my parent’s divorce. It seemed as though my life was collapsing, and yet the world was revolving around me like nothing had ever happened. We traveled back and forth between Salem and Rupert on the weekends to visit my dad. Yet, I changed through that experience, and through my own personal spiritual journey. I fell in love with that area, and developed the closest friendships and enjoyed my year of school more immensely than I ever had.
It was in those years that I blossomed. I became who I really wanted to be. I grew out of the shy “new girl” character I had been before. I did sports, was in a play or two, joined choir, had my first kiss, my first school dance, a job at a horse ranch, and took English riding lessons. It was heaven for me. My dreams were flying sky high. Eventually, things with my parent’s relationship worsened even more. Just when I felt like I couldn’t take it, something changed. I do not know what, but my mother and father started dating again. In a short period of time, they remarried, and we headed back to Rupert, Idaho.
That move was a crushing mix of sadness and anger for leaving a place I had come to love and fit in so well, and feelings of happiness for a family put back together. Although it was yet another harsh trial, I followed my family back to Rupert. I was so scared to go back. The memories of my experience there threatened me. I was stunned by the change in me and in others. My last two years of high school were wonderful. I developed the best friends that I still talk to, and I had the greatest array of experiences ranging from choir trips, to working for the Idaho State Senate, to volunteering for a Youth Ranch, to crazy, wild, teenage fun with huge groups of friends at proms and other activities, especially graduation. I watched my siblings grow and leave the house, and my relationship with them and my parents deepened as I grew to understand and appreciate them and life more.
And so currently, I am two years out of that High School and recently married to the sweetest man I could ever hope for. College has been a great, but hard, journey. It is rewarding and challenging, but it teaches a person things you would never learn otherwise. I am now an adult, and I understand my role in this life and the importance of my actions. I am going to complete college with a degree in Recreation Management with an emphasis in Therapeutic Recreation. I am going to help others through my passion, horses. And as I look back I realize that my life, with all the trials of moving and divorcing, and the experiences with friends, family, and animals, has helped me become the person I am today. It has also prepared in the best way possible to be able to look forward to the future with bright eyes of hope and a heart of gladness. I know who I was and who I am today, and because of my personal history I know I can be someone great!
Olivia M. Grover
- love family
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