How the Cowboy Emoji Changed My Life 🤠

No, I’m not a line dancer. No, I don’t have a favorite pair of cowboy boots. I don’t shout ROLL TIDE, nor do I have a horse named Shelly in the stables out back that I ride in the afternoons on the trails (though that sounds majestic). Come to think of it, I’ve never worn a cowboy hat in my life, but I do LOVE the cowboy hat wearing emoji.

He encompasses so many things I am feeling, and not feeling all at once.

If I took everything that happened to me in life at face value, I’d be a very miserable, unhappy person.

And I credit several things to saving me: sparkly nail polish, binge eating, binge watching, and a wicked sense of humor that could side track any impending sense of doom.

And of course, cowboy hat emoji.

Talk about a tension breaking biatch.

I love him with all of my heart.

And I find that I use him, now more than ever, peppering him into my conversations, emails, and internal dialogues, just to save me from the ticking time bomb that is my own psyche.

And if you don’t understand what I mean, let me try to break it down for you:

When I finally get through to the receptionist after waiting thirty minutes on an automated line

🤠cowboy emoji

When I find a packet of yeast or the last can of pumpkin puree, or bottle of hand sanitizer…. and I brag about it on the group chat.

🤠cowboy emoji

When I am trapped in my own home only to jealously watch others out at restaurants and bars enjoying creme brûlée.

🤠cowboy emoji

He is me and I am him.

He can be a joyful, carefree spirit in the wind and a sarcastic, sassy piece of trash all at once, and I love him for it.

In the darkness, cowboy hat emoji has lightened up the load.

He tips the hat and flips the bird when I can’t.

He expresses what I want to say but don’t.

He takes the words right out of my mouth when I am speechless, and says howdy to my rage, waiting for it to pass like a lone tumbleweed.

I know it seems silly to write about an emoji. But times are tough.

Times are lonely.

Who are you to judge?

So to cowboy hat wearing emoji, thank you.

I am so grateful for you, partner.