The Kern Country Fair sucks. Now don’t take this out of context and think I’m dissing the fair. The fair had many great attractions to offer such as the food, a mini petting zoo, games, rodeos, music, and of course the Ferris wheel. Anyone can enjoy these attractions, but for someone who has asthma, it can be difficult to do.

As an asthmatic, it’s difficult enough to deal with the bad air quality in Bakersfield, but having the fair into the mix makes it much worse. All the dust and dirt, animal smells, fair food, and people who drink and smoke, have us struggling to get a fresh breath of air. All that bad air goes into our bodies causes dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, harder to breathe, and many other effects that take place. If any of these effects happen, it can cause any asthmatic to go into panic mode because they are not getting enough air.

Having asthma, such as myself, can turn a day at the fair from amazing to a horrible nightmare. Just an hour and a half into the fair at night, I was already trying to gasp for air to make it into my lungs. There were too many smells coming to my lungs that my chest started to hurt and a panic came over me. Anyone with asthma can agree or say that this has happened to them and know the feeling of fear or panic.

Even if we have an inhaler with us that helps us breathe, it’s still hard to get a good fresh breath of air that’s no dirt or any other smells. Being at the fair causes more problems with those who have asthma than breathing in the bad air quality every day. That being because the fair just adds to the polluted air rather than just being polluted air. Just because we have a hard time breathing doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy the fair and all it has to offer. For someone who has asthma, maybe placing the fair in a different area without dirt and with the solid ground would help us breathe a bit better.