04/29/2026
OFF THE CUFF🎤: I’ve Always Known Exactly What I Like
I found this photo of me at three years old, sitting on the back of a pony at my little preschool, and I can still feel that moment. It’s my very first memory of being on a horse, and I remember it so clearly. I was completely, instantly in love. The full little-girl-on-a-horse cliché.
Not long after that, I started riding horseback riding lessons. But something else started too.
My full-blown obsession with Johnny Cash.
I wish I could find a photo, because it was iconic. Little me in black and white checkered jeans, a black pearl-snap cowboy shirt, tiny black boots, fully committed to the look and the lifestyle. And I didn’t just wear it once. I wore that outfit ALL the time. To the rodeo, around the house, anywhere I could get away with it. Which is why it’s honestly shocking I can’t find a single photo of it.
I loved Johnny Cash so much that when I started piano lessons, I didn’t want to learn the usual songs. I made my teacher teach me how to play “A Boy Named Sue,” which, for the record, is basically two notes. And I was so proud of those two notes.
Looking back, it makes perfect sense. I’ve always known exactly what I like, and I’ve never been interested in doing it halfway.
The boots, the music, the whole energy… I didn’t grow into it. It’s always been me!
Is there something you loved as a kid that still feels like you?👇🏼
P.S. Instagram, you need to get with the program and have “A Boy Named Sue” in your Johnny Cash repertoire!
