Some people got leadership, some people don't.

'Well, what can i do?'         'Ben, you can do whatever the _____ you want, because you're not part of this group anymore!'         *....................*

A shinning example of my leadership.

Some people got it, some people don't. And what can i say? I don't have it. Oh well! I can live with that. I'm perfectly fine with not being the leader. Although, when I'm tired, cranky, and all i want to do is finish the project, i have no trouble stepping up to the plate and i often go down swinging. People around me tend to stay around and watch the fireworks.

What troubles me are the people that naturally assume, that, just by being born, they have some god given right to be a leader, and can order people around.

Well, they can't.

In particular, there are two girls. Both i have a hard time dealing with, because they assume they are leaders and can bark out orders like a seasoned general.

In reality, they just annoy the rest of us.

Leaders have to inspire hope and trust and loyalty and all that stuff that they talk about that i tend to tune out. I stay up until 2 in the morning writing........ i don't always pay attention.

Point is though, you kinda have to be likable to be a leader. You know, so when everyone around you rolls their eyes 24/7, it's a clear sign to......................... Back down!!!!!

Oh well. Live and let live. Love your enemies. Blah blah blah. Whatever. If you're gonna lead, do it right. *pointed look at two of my soccer coaches* your team shouldn't hate you or want to rebel. That's a bad sign. It's like Pirates of the Caribbean, which i watched with grace this weekend as we put up the Christmas tree. A leader has to be loved in order to stay in the position, otherwise someone else is going to come along and take it.

End of my rant on leadership.

Daily quote- "One. Two. Three. Four!"- Grace

<3 Taylor Elaine 

thanks- for giving and teaching

I just wanna thank some people who've changed my life- who have given me life lessons.

First, thanks mom. For giving me life.... And not stopping after that.

Thanks dad. For giving me such big shoes to fill, yet at the same time having no doubt that I'll do it.

Thanks grandma Mary. For teaching me that those who are less fortunate have simply been dealt a harder hand than you. For teaching me the meaning of true beauty and compassion.

Thank you papa Denny. For showing me the value in fighting for your beliefs. You truly are a hero.

Thank you grandma Eddie. For teaching me that when you don't talk very often, the words you do say make them all the more valuable. And, also, teaching me to remember each and everyday.

Thank you grandma Nancy. For teaching me the meaning of strength, love, joy, and kindness. For simply being Elaine with me. For giving me your time and ear when i need it most.

Thank you to all my aunts and uncles. For being family and being there for me in spirit.

Thank you to John and Ahnika. For teaching me that even when i want to kill you, i will always love you more than life itself.

Thank you Grace. For being more than a friend, and sometimes, more than a sister. For teaching me to stand on my own. How to dance in the rain. How to ride lars's bike to the giant windmill and hide in a cornfield. How to be myself. How to live without fear.

Thank you Adam and Jamie. For teaching me to never grow up.

Thanks (most of) my teachers. For giving me bits of wisdom and advice along life's path.

Thank you Dara and Terry, for giving me a second home, for giving me a second set of parents, for giving me love.

Thank you Marcus. For being the older brother i always wanted, and never had.

Thank you Renee. For being whatever i need you to be- Mother, friend, mentor, or someone i can vent too.

Thank you Casey Duaine, for teaching me love.

Thank you everyone. For giving and teaching.

Thanks for making me who i am today.

<3 Taylor Elaine

The hopes i have....

The hopes i have for me and my own

I hope to never grow up

I hope to never regret more than five things in my life. At fifteen, i only have one

I hope to always have love, give love, and be loved

I hope to age as gracefully as my grandmothers

I hope to inherit the looks and the spirit of my mother

I hope to inherit the soul of my father

I hope to be the mother to my kids that my mother was to me

I hope to share joy like BobbleHead

I hope to never lose the love i have for writing and dance

I hope to see my dreams blossom

I hope to see the moment he leaves, and more importantly, the moment he comes home

I hope to see him come home, period

I hope to live my life in a way that i want too

I hope to make them proud

I hope for a lot of things.

I hope that my jellyfish buddy, Tate Tutfe, has an amazing birthday!!!(:

<3 Taylor Elaine

what's the magic word? BACON!!!

For the love of high school, i adore my lunch period. Aka, my table. (Lindsey, De-von! and Red Head in Pink Shorts). Oh the memories we make.

So on Friday, i hear this little gem of a moment.

'Trent! Give me back my giant pixie stick!'- De-von
'What's the magic word?'-Trent
'BACON!!!'-De-von
*lets go*-Trent
*wtf?!?!?!*-me

So from now on, that's my magic word. Seriously. You want something? Give me bacon.

This is my other new favorite quote from this weekend.(when it was snowing violently out-more on that later)

*Casey and Marcus run to the car hold the giant box*
'The funniest thing is, i have the keys...'-Laura (aka, 'lora'.)

Yes, i found out her name. It's Laura. Not spelled lora, despite whatever Cas thinks. She's really quite pretty and looks a lot like Taylor Swift.... Here's a random connection!

And any snide remarks from my father about your tattoos will be ignored
Cause my heart is yours.
- Taylor Swift, Ours

Wonderful song. Wonderful album. Now not only does that connect to Marcus and Laura, it connects to this Monday, at 9 p.m. Casey was going to get his next tattoo with Marcus, when that stupid law took place. And here comes another connection-

I HATE MINNESOTA!!!!!!!!!!

Guess who didn't get to go to skillet because the cities got a foot of snow. I'm not even going to put my hand up because I'm still very, very angry. Oh well. i still got to spend the day with my boys, locked in a seven foot sleeping bag..... Guys!!!!! Hahaha i love that family so much....

<3 Taylor Elaine

Alayanna Leigh has arrived!!!!

Yes, everyone, i've become a parent. This morning, at like 745, bri's water broke! She was in labor until 247. So baby Alayanna has arrived, safe and healthy. (: despite ryan dragging bri halfway across the room today in math, which is, oddly, one of my favorite classes... No, seventh hour takes the cake.

Epic high fives everyone!-me
*high five Lanie, Kessa, Violet, Elijah, and turns to Burke.*-me
**glare.**- burke
*slowly put down hand and walk away*-me

Mr. Hanson, i don't get it!-Lanie
Lanie, you- -me
No no don't tell her it's more fun to watch her struggle.- mr hanson.

You are not my mother!- Eli
*stare down*- me
**starts his work**- E

Hahahaha i love this class. We have so many people in it. I'm honestly gonna miss it next semester. :(
J-10 is pretty sweet too..

Tate, you are gay!-Suzie
What?! No, i'm not!-Tate
Yes you are! Accept it!-Suzie

So the other day, i'm late to school because i had an eye appointment, so i walk in and hand Worth my pass, as per usual. Than he crumples it up, throws it at me, and tells me to tell Dylan that he left the lights on. What's going on?!

I would also like to send a shout out to my sister, who's at swimming sections. When'd you grow up, little buddy?! Making me sad, my little sissy poo all grown up with her own sense of humor(: peh nanananana! Shut the front door! Put the taser doowwn! For the love of high school, i adore her!

<3 Taylor Elaine

Adaptations- A.K.A You know you're Minnesotan when....

Ah, yes. Minnesota. The lovely, frigidly cold, sometimes bipolar, always unique.. The place i call home. The place that i've gotten used to. I've adapted to. And yes, i've read this list, and cringed. More than once. But... You know you're Minnesotan when...

-you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping the food will swim by. (oh, the joys of ice fishing.) 
-you keep the snow tires on your truck all year because it ain't worth taking them off for only two months. (include chains in that.) 

-you have ever refused to buy something because it's too "spendy." (omg, mom?!)

-you like to come in out of the sun when the temperature gets above 72. (Kriewall's pond, anyone?)
-your local Dairy Queen is closed from December through February.(who needs icecream when you walk out your door and you have a snow pile?) 
-you instinctively walk like a penguin for three months out of the year. (Or like, seven.) 
-someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there. (this is so my family.)
-your Dad's sun tan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead. (omg, dad?!) 
-you have ever apologized to a telemarketer. (Minnesota nice. Yeah, that's right, we're so gangster.)
-you believe the only REAL vehicles have skis in front and a loud motor under your seat. (Jensen winterfest!)
-you have a nickname for your chain saw and you pat it on the fuel tank at the end of a hard day's sawing. (I think my dad named his betty. Just a thought. I call the big one Joey.)
-you may not have actually eaten it, but you have heard of Lutefisk. (and you can make it. omg, grandma?!)
-you beam with pride when some King or Hollywood super star comes to the Mayo Clinic to save their lives.
-you have no "spring" sports season. (wait, what's spring?)
-you have ever worn shorts and a parka at the same time (omg, theron?! Happy birthday, btw!)
-you know how to say Wayzata, Mahtomedi, and Shakopee.
-you think that ketchup is a little too spicy. (omg, tom?!)
-you support the preservation of forests, farmland and wetlands because that's where you hunt deer, pheasants and geese.(omg, jesse, casey, dan?!)
 -every January, from age 2 to 13, you let your older siblings talk you into putting your tongue on a steel post(Allison, Ben, Abe, Bennet, Grant, Nate? >:( Oh, Chad, you're just as bad!)
-you believe human beings must all go through a frozen dormant period for four months every year.
-you consider Lime Jell-O a highly versatile food: a breakfast dish when it is filled with fruit, a salad when it has shredded carrots and a dab of mayonnaise, and a dessert when topped with dreamwhip. (omg, old church ladies?!)
-you always believed that vacation meant "going up north." (wait, where does everybody else go?!) 
-the temperature in March is above freezing for three days in a row, and you think it's summer. (Kriewall's pond? Really? No takers? Your loss!)
-you laugh out loud every time you see a news report about a blizzard shutting down the entire east coast. (whimps.)
-you think that "UFF DA" is a standard English phrase. (grace and i saw a car that had this on it. Epicness.) 
-your favorite sport when it's cold outside is played where it's cold inside. (Renee, I CALL THE HURLEY!)
-you thank God every morning for not making you an Iowan. (marcus?(: Hi!) 
-you believe that bitter cold, a slippery surface and speed go together in a sport and on the Interstate.
(when riding with my mom, it's like a Valley Fair ride!)
-you measure distance in minutes.(How much longer?! Fifteen minutes, shut your trap hole! Oh grandpa, how we love you, you prickly fish tank you!)-you know several people who have hit a deer.(and than take it to nicks. Yumm, deer meet!)-your school classes were canceled because of cold.(Best. Days. Ever.)-you've ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.(It's a time honored cycle. Go to school, heat. Go to soccer, a/c. Go home, heat.)-you know what's knee-high by the Fourth of July. (And you can tell, by a glance, how long the harvest is going to take.)-you carry jumper cables in your car.(and know how to use them.)-you know what "cow tipping" and "snipe hunting" is.(wait, what do other kids do for fun?)-you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.(And it's for a reason!)
-you find -20 degrees F "a little chilly". (Ah, maybe we should turn the heat on now... I'm not sure..)-you know all 4 seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Construction.(great grandpa had a plaque that said this. Cracked me up on a daily basis.)

So we adapt to what environment we live in. But, for the love of high school, i can't figure out why anyone wants to live here.

<3 Taylor Elaine

Are we human? Or are we dancer?... Wait, i mean Animal!

Uff.The Killers. I love and adore their song, Human. It can be taken so many ways. Are we humans, able to adapt? Or are we dancers, moving through our choreographed steps, no mistakes, no changes? Or are we humans, unsure and clumsy? Or are we dancers, able to flow and be free, moving to the music of life? (personally, i like the second one better, but that's because I'm a dancer. And therefore, biased.)

But are we humans, or animals? We may have the ability to understand complex thoughts, invent, change, have coherent and intelligent thought and ideas. But what separates us from animals? We have the same basic needs.To eat. To sleep. To reproduce. To survive. Surprisingly, only 2% of DNA separates us from the common household fly. (thanks Mr. Hanson!) Some people are more animal like than others... Some let themselves be taken over by animistic thoughts and actions. Yet, one thing separates us totally, in my opinion. And yes, now I'm about to pull a Harry Potter. (which isn't my fault, it's Kate's. High Kick music anyone? Kicks and giggles(: ya dance team!) But it's love. It's affection for our offspring, and family. It's having a baby crush on someone, it's the love and patience in my mom's eyes when I'm being stupid, it's the amusement and enjoyment in my dad's eyes when i shoot the pistol, screaming like a girl. (shooting pumpkins- most fun of November..! For right now(: like five days until Skillet!! And like a week till matching tattoos! Boys..) It's how much my grandma loves it when we sit on the beach for hours and talk about her childhood. It's when your heart stops when you hear those words, those words that will forever change your life.

So are we human? Or are we dancer? Or are we, quite simply, animals with larger brains?

I'm a dancer, and that's all i know.

<3 Taylor Elaine



                        Sweet!!!!!!(: