Some may look at sophomore Michaela Evans’ collection and only see a few small hand painted horses and think “no big deal”, but to Michaela, each horse has a unique meaning behind it.

“My favorite one would be the one named Silver Lining,” Michaela said. “It reminds me of a dream which kind of symbolizes to me to keep dreaming and not give up.”

Michaela has been collecting since she was 11 years old when her dad gifted her with her first ceramic, hand-painted horse. Since then, Michaela has gotten them as gifts every Christmas from her parents. She now has 32 ceramic horse figurines.

“I thought it was cool she was interested in starting a collection,” step-mom Holly Evans said. “I used to collect bears when I was a teenager, so I thought it was good
she wants to collect too.”

Even though Michaela’s friends don’t contribute to her horse figure collection, they are still supportive of it.

“I think it’s cool because you don’t really see many kids our age collect things anymore,” friend Emily Gast said. “She takes such good care of them and if you ask
her about them, it makes a really good story.”