Marinna Mori lives on a ranch in the northeast tip of Nevada in Elko County. Healthy Press reporters recently interviewed her using Google Meet.

Marinna told us that she lives on the ranch with her younger brother, Pete, and her parents. Her grandparents live a couple of minutes down the road.

She is 12 years old, is in seventh grade, and is homeschooled, which means that she goes to school at home. Her mom is her teacher.

 She said that she does not have or use a lot of technology. She just has a computer for schoolwork.

Marinna is a cowgirl. She said this means she lives on a ranch and takes care of cattle and horses. On Marinna’s ranch, she said, there are 45 horses, dogs, and about 2,000 beef cattle.

She said living on a ranch is fun. There is always something to do. Marinna likes to ride horses and practice roping, which is a way to catch cattle.  

But life on a ranch can be stressful. For example, she said, sometimes cattle break free and go onto other people’s property. The ranchers have to bring them back. Ranches have a lot of open land, so the neighbors are several miles away from each other, she said. 

Marinna said that to relieve some of this stress she likes to go to her room and play music with her guitar.  She said it calms her down. 

Marinna has performed her own songs while playing guitar at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Her song, “Beneath Me,” tells others about her experience riding her horses.

>>Click here to hear Marinna sing.

Marinna said that her grandpa started teaching her to play guitar when she was 6. He still teaches her. He is also the person who inspired her to play, she said. She said he was always strumming his guitar.

When she looks outside or is in nature, she said she feels peaceful and free. Nature is also an inspiration for her music. Marinna said she feels creative when she is “messing around” on the guitar.

* * *

Everyone experiences stress sometimes. But what is it?

According to KidsHealth, a health website, stress is an uncomfortable feeling. You might feel worried, frustrated, angry, or anxious.

But not all stress is bad, KidsHealth says. It can help you when you have a book report and you need to present it to the class. Stress can help motivate you to get it done.

To keep stress under control, KidsHealth recommends a balanced life. Four things you can do to help you are getting sleep, exercising, eating healthy food, and having fun, according to the website.

 — By Gotwals Healthy Press reporters