About Me

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I'm a senior in high school.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

My Purpose in Life

                                                            




                    

What is my purpose?

    Purpose. Definition: The object toward which one strives or for which something exists; an aim or a goal.  
   Many of us have to think about our purpose in life.  As hard as it is to think about.  You might be thinking "I don't have a purpose in life..." or "I don't know what my purpose in life is..." This is exactly how I feel.  I feel lost in life sometimes. It seems that a lot of my friends know what they are doing with their future and where they are going to college.  I, on the other hand, do not know either of these things.  I do have some ideas in mind of where I want to go and what I want to do with my future. But for now my purpose in life is to make it through high school.

   One of my purposes in life is to be a good daughter to my parents. Although I am the farthest thing from perfect, I can still try to be everything that they want me to be.  Such as nice and kind to my fellow students and adults.  Doing my best at school even if I do end up getting a B. But most of all my parents want me to always be myself.  My energetic, goofy, bubbly, smiling self.  They also want me to try my hardest and give one hundered percent effort in everything that I do.  Whether it be show choir, school work, sports or other activities.  If they do not think that I am giving it my all they are not afraid to sit down and lecture me about it.

  When you look into the bright skyscrapers in New York City you often see big, colorful, attention-grabbing, posters.  These were done by some of the WORLDS top graphic designers.  Not just in the United States, all over the world.  Many people think that graphic designing is not a big deal.  They also think that graphic design is really simple and easy to do.  Well, both of those are wrong! Graphic designing IS  big deal.  Without graphic design we would not have big signs, banners, posters, etc, like we do now. If you have ever gone in our cafetieria there are the ‘Got Milk’ posters hanging up.  On one poster there is a female skier with fire coming off of her ski’s.  Who do you think did that? You’ve got it.  A graphic designer.  Graphic designing is not as easy as people may think it to be. It takes a ton of creativity, hours of coming up with a fun design or logo, and countless amounts of negative feedback saying “change this” or “fix that.” Graphic designers will spend hours upon hours at their computer working out the kinks in their project.  If they do not have a good design, that design will not sell, therefore leaving the graphic designer without many paying customers.  It’s a very hard field to be In, yet a rewarding one at the same time. Without graphic art our society would be very bland. 
                Another career I am interested in is elementary education.  I am currently an aid in the second grade class at the elementary school.  Every day I walk in and the second graders greet me with a warm, welcoming, “Hello Miss Taylor!” or “Miss Taylor you look pretty today!” It’s so rewarding knowing that these little students, or ‘friends’ as we refer to them, really enjoy my presence.  I love the atmosphere that the elementary provides.  My ‘friends’ look up to me as if I am their role model and to have that feeling for the rest of my life would be perfect.  I feel like I could really relate to this career. 
                Some colleges I am considering are the University of Nebraska at Kearney or the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.  Although I want to go somewhere out of state or further away, I know that it will probably be nice to live closer to home.  I have family in both Kearney and Lincoln so if I ever needed anything they would be right there for me. It’s such a hard decision. It’s the rest of my life. I feel overwhelmed that colleges are already calling my house asking me to send in my application for scholarships! I know that soon I will be deciding where and what to do, even if that takes me away from the people I love the most.
                Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts. Arnold Bennett.  I agree with this quote in so many ways.  Even though things in my life are changing, I know that they are going to have to.  But all the changes will be for the better. My purpose in life right now it to grow up and find out what I’m good at. Besides just being Taylor, of course. J

Monday, September 26, 2011

My Fam[ILY]

                                                      My younger brother, Jake.

My Town and State

                                                              



Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Where I'm From


   When I think of my hometown I think of two words: classy and friendly.  I am from Aurora, Nebraska.  Population… about 5,000.  Aurora is the type of town where you can walk the streets alone at night and not have to worry about somebody kidnapping you.  The type of town where you can go into the Aurora Mall searching for some milk and wind up spending about an hour in the store chatting with someone you know.  The type of town where everybody waves at oncoming cars, gives a smile to someone they don’t know very well, and not talking to strangers is frowned upon.
               I am from a town where people volunteer at our local theatre and a place called the youth center.  The youth center is a spot downtown  where kids can go play video games, watch movies, and hang out with friends.  It keeps those ‘troubled’ kids out of trouble.  It’s great that in the community I live in, people are willing to sacrifice time out of their busy schedules and give back to the town that gives so much to them.
               We have a little coffee shop that has the best ice cream, Italian sodas, and toffee steamers around.  The toffee steamers really hit the spot on those blustery winter days.  Runza is the best spot to hang out after volleyball and basketball games.  It’s amazing how much fun you can have when the whole place is packed with students from one end of the room to the other.  After football games the whole student section, cheerleaders, and football players all pile into pizza hut.  Not only do we make the workers mad by coming in at eleven o’clock pm, but I don’t think anybody truly ever pays the right amount. But we all say please and thank you so that shouldn’t really matter anyway, right?
               I am from Aurora High School, home of the huskies.  Courage. Power. Strength. Pride.  Tradition.  A tradition in excellence.  Excellent football team, excellent education system, and excellent class.  I am from a school where chanting “nuts and bolts, nuts and bolts, we got screwed!” at referees gets us some unforgettable dirty looks  by our Principal, also known as my dad.  Our administrators and teachers have high expectations for us.  For instance, if we leave trash on a bus or in another team’s locker room, we will have to run.  I can recall after a basketball game at Holdrege the girls’ team helped the janitor pick all the trash up out of the bleachers.  Of course Mr. Larsen was impressed but we never got rewarded or a shortened practice.  Those things are just expected to come natural to us Aurorans.  I can’t say the everyone is nice to everyone.  We have our clicks and our best friends and our two faced friends.  But when it all comes down to it, you can count of most people for having your back.  I am from a school where janitors are people too.  They say ‘hello’ and are friendly, conversational people.  Unlike your stereotypical janitors. I probably talk to them more than half of our teaching staff.
               I come from a Christian family; A family who goes to church every Sunday morning and prays at every dinner meal.  I am from a family that spends countless Saturdays cleaning the house from ceiling to carpet and wall to wall.  My mom and my dad have spent 17 and a half years raising me to be their version of an ideal daughter.  We try to eat supper together as a family every day that ends in Y.  My family likes to go on vacations at least once a summer.  Our general tradition is going up to Minnesota and staying on a cabin for a week on a lake. Sadly, we don’t do that anymore due to our hectic schedules but a weekend in Omaha is just as relaxing.  I have a younger brother named Jake.  He is three years younger than me and a pain in the butt.  Although he is a pain, we’ve grown a lot closer and he is becoming somewhat more tolerable than he was a couple of years ago. Sports plays a big role in my family’s life.  We’ve spent countless Saturdays at volleyball tournaments.  My parents get stuck racing from Jake’s game to my game.  Although I can sense how stressed out they get sometimes, I know that when I graduate and when my brother graduates, they’ll have nothing to do.  They’re lives are going to feel empty and incomplete.
               Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live in Lincoln or Omaha.  I can see myself possibly living there when I’m older.  Then I think how much I would miss out on.  I love being able to walk around everywhere here in Aurora and I also love the fact that I know most of the residents that live here.  I wouldn’t trade this town and my family for anything.  Home truly is where the heart is.



Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Who am I?



"Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live." -Author unknown. 
    Laughing.  Smiling.  Loving.  Three very important things to remember when you live your life. 
I was born in Norfolk, Nebraska.  About twenty minutes away from my home town of Newman Grove.  Population 400 tops.  We lived in Newman Grove until I was about three years old.  Where we then moved to my current town of Aurora, Nebraska.  When we lived in Newman Grove, my dad was the head boys basketball coach and volleyball coach.  I was born into sports.  For instance, I was a volleyball player for Halloween.  But not just any volleyball player.  A Newman Grove Blue jay volleyball player!  And I believe I had a crush on every single one of the varsity basketball players my dad coached. 
   Even when I was a little girl, I loved playing outside.  Making 'homemade' soup out of mud, water, ugly flowers, and grass.  I had an obsession with caterpillars, dogs, trampolines, and Barbie’s. I owned about every Barbie imaginable.  From Princess Ariel to Olympic swimmer Barbie, to Brittney Spears and the Olsen Twins.  I loved bringing them to life.  Each doll had their own personality and it seemed to stick with them for as long as I played with them.  I had quite the imagination.  I believe it's important to individualize the importance of childhood.  I had a great childhood and I wouldn't trade it for anything. 
  I was always the secret trouble maker.  For instance, in kindergarten we were playing with scissors and, like most five year olds, I was curious as to how sharp they really were.  I ended up cutting my bangs and hiding them under a woodchip in hopes that Mrs. Anderson wouldn't find my hair clippings.  It turns out that red hair isn't exactly easy to hide.  It's not easy to lie to Mrs. Anderson and tell her that's not your hair when you're the only red head in the class.
   Also, on the first day of kindergarten we had scary ol' Mrs. Schmidt give us this long, over-drawn, lecture about how we go down the slide on our bottoms and that we do not ever climb the slide.  I believe I got fifteen minutes at the wall for climbing the slide.  That's how I met my kindergarten love.  I was rebellious to say the least.
    I've always been known as a go-getter.  Outgoing.  And stating my opinion.  Looking back now I can picture my middle school years. One word comes to mind.  Awkward.  From the braces and pulled teeth, to the frequent acne breakouts I would get.  I wore the same pair of jeans at least three times a week and got very comfortable with the term "pitting out."  Just looking back now makes me shutter.  During my freshman and sophomore years I had this mentality that I was better than everyone else. That I didn't really have to try hard to get the things I wanted.  That all quickly changed when I had to work for my spot as the libero for my volleyball team and when I didn't get the starting position my junior year on the basketball team, too.  I realized that I needed to work harder to achieve the things I wanted.  Halfway through my basketball season I worked hard enough and earned my starting role. 
   Towards the end of my sophomore year my best friend told me she was moving away.  At first it didn't hit me.  She was my best friend.  We were inseparable.  Practically sisters.  She couldn't leave.  It just didn't seem plausible.  But it was true and she moved at the end of June. I was hurt and broken.  It was then that I started talking to a new student moving to Aurora.  From what I could tell he was cute and very likeable.  We had been talking for about two months before we even hung out.  I knew I had a crush on him.  But what's a crush really?  I figured he would find somebody better to hang out and talk to when school started.  That's what usually happened to me anyway.  He filled the empty spaces where Ashlyn once was.  But he was different I learned.  He didn't leave me.  He didn't find another girl to be with.  He chose me. And now we're beyond best friends.  It's crazy this plan God had for me.  I learned to accept new things and to love my life no matter what happens. 
   My future is more unpredictable than this Nebraska weather.  I wish I knew what I wanted to do.  I am so indecisive.  Some days I want to design clothes, houses, rooms, magazines.  And other days I want to be a teacher, help little kids, maybe even a social worker.  I find myself thinking "but could I really do that job the rest of my life?"  I like to have nice clothes, shoes, purses, etc.  So I guess I do need a high paying job.  I wish I could take a handy machine like Phil of the Future and zip into my future to see what is going to be of me.  Who I'll marry, what kind of job I'll have, you know, all the basic stuff.
As Reliant K once said, "The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair."
I know God has a plan for me.  I just need to be patient and enjoy the ride.