Get to Know The Blogger

*Note: This blog is specifically for my Creativity and Community class. In order to avoid having to create a new blog, I will be using Take Paws and Relax for the next six weeks to fulfill my C&C requirement.

Welcome to Take Paws and Relax. If you’ve been here before, hello again. If you’re reading this as part of C&C, this is a website that I run that focuses on me and my two dogs – Caesar and Jeter. I’m going to use this first post to introduce myself.

My name is Kirsten (K-EAR-sten) Barnhart. I am the editor of The Times Bulletin, a local newspaper in Van Wert, Ohio. I work full-time (sometimes more than 40 hours) and attend Purdue Fort Wayne full-time. I am an avid hiker and enjoy the woods with my dog. Caesar is my main travel partner. He is a German Shepherd/Australian Cattle Dog mix with a high drive. Jeter is my main cuddle buddy. He is an American Bulldog/Lab mix with a low drive.

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Caesar and I vacation together. We love to travel to Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio frequently. We’ve been many places together on mini vacations – Tennessee; North Carolina; Hocking Hills, Ohio; Yellow Springs, Ohio; and other various parks around the area.

If you hadn’t already guessed from my Bernie Sanders 2020 shirt on the first day of class, I’m a liberal. I consider myself a very open minded person. I love to hear people’s stories and learn from them. I grew up in a heavily conservative area (Van Wert, Ohio) and I’ve been working my entire life to unlearn the biases and stereotypes that were engrained into me as a young child. 

I’m an advocate for women, the environment, mental health, and especially animals. 

I love working with Van Wert’s local YWCA to cover the important things they are doing through their mission. Van Wert is lucky to have such an open minded YWCA that cares about racial injustice and the empowerment of women.

In 2016, I attended the March for Science in Washington, D.C. to demand that our government DO SOMETHING about climate change. The experience was unreal and I hope to do it again one day. I loved being in D.C. and learning about what happens there.

I serve on Van Wert’s Humane Society Board and care deeply about the humane treatment of animals, especially dogs. I began this website as a way to share photos and stories of the adventures of me and my dogs. I often post tips here about all kinds of dog-related information. From a young age, I’ve been known as “the animal” person. I’ve raised exotic birds, snakes, rabbits, chickens, and dogs. Through my experiences, I’ve learned a lot about many things, especially dogs and animals. I didn’t got to vet school or learn about animal psychology for one reason: I loved to write, more. While I would have been excellent with animals in a trained profession, I’ve always been passionate about writing, and I’ve always wanted to incorporate animals into my work.

I am an English Writing major. I began attending IPFW in the fall of 2014 (I’ve been here awhile) taking two classes at a time. I am an avid reader and an avid writer. My everyday life involves a lot of reading and writing. Journalism, while it is my current career, is not my passion. I simply love to write and would follow any career that allows me to do so as long as it serves me.

People often ask me what I want to do after college. Sometimes I say that I don’t know, but the truth is – I want to quit my job, write this blog for a living (maybe do other freelance work), and travel with my dogs. I don’t even need a lot of money, just enough to live. I think we all just want to be happy, and sometimes that involves many career changes. 

I think I would also really love working for a non-profit whose mission aligned with my passions. When I first started college, I worked in a factory. It was mindless work and left me unfulfilled. I knew I wanted to do work where I felt like I was making a difference somehow. I feel like as a journalist, I have that ability, and while it may not be my dream job, I feel like I have the power to educate people on important topics and draw their attention to things that matter to them.

I am many things that are hard to explain in 630 words on the internet. My overall goal, always, through any of my blogs, is to get people thinking. I hope over the next six weeks, you get to know me better and that by doing so, you get to know and understand yourself better. Thanks for reading!