Goddess of the Hunt

As far back as I can remember I have loved the outdoors, nature, and wildlife. As a child, my parents would take the family to our cabin retreat in the mountains, where I would spend hours on end fishing, exploring, swimming, panning for gold, and just soaking in everything surrounding this wilderness oasis, aptly named Shangri La. Other favorite activities of my youth were bike rides to Coyote Hills, where salt marshes attracted a variety of unique animals and birds; visits to a wildlife rehabilitation center, where I got to know the resident animals by name; camping trips to explore ghost towns; and catching tortoises and tadpoles in the California desert.
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When I was 12 my family moved to Oregon, where my dad took up bowhunting. I loved it when he allowed me to accompany him on his scouting and hunting trips. At 19 I went hunting on my own for the first time, and from that experience the passion to hunt was born.
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But what was it that kept me involved and grew my passion for the hunt to a level that can only be compared to a genie being let out of a bottle? After all, I didn’t know any other females who hunted. My mom loved the outdoors, but did not like hunting. In fact, whenever my dad went out to hunt she would pray for the animals to escape! As an adult, I learned not to tell her that I was going hunting…I needed all the help I could get! My sister, who was raised in the same environment, chose to follow my mother’s lead and to this day has no desire to take up hunting.
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Looking at my background, I don’t really fit the usual image of a hunter. Growing up, my dad was my only hunting role model. On top of that, I was a girlie-girl. I liked to wear dresses and make up. I was certainly not a tomboy. I was a normal girl….I liked boys, dogs, and horses! So what happened to turn me into the huntress I am today? Well, I think I finally figured it out! My parents had it all planned out from the start…it’s all in my name!
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My name is Cynthia. Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, wilderness, and wild animals, is sometimes called Cynthia because, according to Greek legend, she was born on Mount Cynthus. And the similarities don’t stop there. Artemis is the twin sister to Apollo; I had a horse that I named Apollo. She is also the goddess of childbirth, protector of young girls, and the bringer and reliever of disease in women. As a nurse, I have worked as a labor and delivery nurse. Today, as a women’s health care nurse practitioner, I work with women every day to help prevent illness. Coincidence? I think not!
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Artemis, aka Cynthia, was an archer, a huntress, a guardian of wild animals, nature, women, and children. My parents set me on this path before I was even born. My future as a huntress was nothing short of destiny!