12 for 2012

Somehow it is 2012...I have no idea how this happened because I feel like it was just yesterday that I was thinking about how weird it was going to be to write 2000 instead of something with a 19 in front of it. Does that make me sound old? No? Okay good...

2012 is going to my year. How do I know? Because I am going to make it my year. No, I will not make a resolution because they inevitably fail. Instead I am going to write a list of things, a kind of bucket list, that I will accomplish this year. In sharing it here where someone is bound to read it and ask me how my list is going, and I will be proudly report on my progress. So, here it is. The 12 things for 2012.

1. Go to Church every Sunday.
2. Read my Bible every day.
3. Be more thankful - let people know that they are appreciated and valued.
4. Be more active - I already have aerobics classes on my schedule :)
5. Stop procrastinating. 
6. Spend more time in real life and less time online. (This means you Facebook)
7. Write letters.
8. Call my Grandma and my Dad once a week.
9. Take more pictures. They really do last a lifetime.
10. No more meaningless crushes.
11. Go on more walks and take time to appreciate the outdoors. I do live in Oregon after all...
12. Learn to love myself for who I am, all the time, no matter what. 

Some of these are hard, others will be easy. I am printing out this list and posting it in multiple locations as a constant reminder to myself of the things I need to do this year. Please, ask me about them. I will want to tell you about it! 

Define: Crush

  Crush: 

When you have a crush on someone it means you have developed a strong desire for another person. Eventually it may grow into true love or your feelings might wear away so don't jump into conclusions and mistake a silly crush for love. A crush might make you get butterflies in your stomach, shy, and blushful. Your crush can also cause you to do silly things like stalking him,figuring out his/her sceduled classes, looking at his/her Facebook a million times a day (even reading all his/her comments), collecting every piece of information you can on him/her, and other obsessive things. There is a reason why a crush is called a crush though. It might hurt to find out your crush is taken--OUCH! But if you are truely still into this person DON'T let that stop you. There is still hope for the future. Until your desired lover is single again try developing a frienship! That way you'll always be an option. Good luck! ( :  Ps-Don't go OD on the stalker thing. Not only is it a turnoff--it's also pretty darn creepy...

(2.) v. the process by which people are killed when thrown beneath a steam-roller or other placed in between two solid surfaces with force being applied toward them that the body cannot withstand. Ahhhh urbandictionary.com  always has the best definition of words. Its funny how well these two definitions define the same word. It's a word I use often: crush.  If you know me well, you know that when I develop a crush, its pretty darn intense. It may only last for a week, but for that one week, I am obsessed. And then, at the end of that week, something always happens to break that crush, and then I feel like I am being slowly squished by a steamroller. This happens often. It seems like by this point in my life I would know how it was going to end. I would know not to let it happen. But, over and over and over again it happens. And I can't stop. I so wish I could, life would be so much easier. So...I am going to try very very hard to not let it happen anymore. I hate the crush cycle, I hate feeling down and blue every time it happens. I don't want it anymore. I am happy with things the way they are. I have the best friends anyone could ask for, a family that loves me unconditionally, a job that is beyond fulfilling, classes that intrigue me, and a future that can't wait for.  Now that that's out of my mind, I can sleep the night away in peace, listening to the rain hit my skylights. Love, Tayleranne P.S...there is something wrong with my blog. I don't know why the words are highlighted in white :(

This term is flying by! I know I have said it before, but holy buckets! How is this happening?

I was walking to class this morning, looking at the beautiful leaves changing colors right before my eyes.  This campus seriously catches on fire in the fall, the trees are the most amazing colors, so bright and awesome.  I wish I could just stop, make a pile of leaves, remove any spiders, and then roll around in them. I have a feeling that doing that would make my day infinitely better.

Every fall I am reminded how natural change is in our lives. In some way or another we all resist it, because it's scary, but it has to happen.  We see the trees go through an enormous change every fall, and can they resist it? No way, they embrace it, it is how things are supposed to happen. So why am I always pushing change away? I need to learn to be like the trees, and accept the change with bright, beautiful colors.

If you are wondering why I am going on about change, it's because a lot of it has come my way in the past 5 weeks, and I know that so much more is on its way.  The next few years will be packed with changing times, changing places, and changing people. I want to be ready when it comes, I want to be happy when it comes, and I want to thrive in those changes.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Take time to admire the beauty of fall while you still can!

<3 Tayleranne

Never alone...

It has been a good amount of time since I last posted, and while a lot has happened in the past few months, I really don't feel like re-capping it all. So...I am not going to.

That being said, I just wanted to share a song with anyone who chooses to read this, and actually pays attention to what I am saying.  Never Alone, by Lady Antebellum has been on repeat on my iPod for the past few days because it is a constant reminder to me that we are in fact, never alone.  Lately I have been feeling a bit down and out, lonely, unimportant.  This song reminds me every time I hear it that things are never as bad as they seem.

Listen to the lyrics carefully, and know how true they really are.  <3

Little bits of advice...

I came across this bit of wonderfulness yesterday in the strangest of places, Amazon.com.  But, I like it a lot, so I thought I could share it with anyone who actually cares to read what I have to say!

Below is a guest post by psychologist Dr. Mardy Grothe, author of six books of qoutations. His newest book Neverisms is a comical, and at times even instructive, collection of things never to do.
When people say things like "Always do your best" they're engaging in the time-honored practice of exhortation. But what is the proper term for strongly-worded attempts to discourage people—as when people say things like "Never ruin an apology with an excuse." The proper term is dehortation, the opposite of exhortation. That word is rare, though, so I've coined my own term for these kinds of strongly-worded cautionary warnings. I've also used it to title my new book. In Neverisms: A Quotation Lover's Guide to Things You Should Never Do, Never Say, or Never Forget, you will find nearly 2,000 pieces of "dissuasive advice given with authority." Some are ancient, but with modern relevance.


1) "Never dare to judge until you have heard the other side." --Euripides, 5th century B.C.
2) "Never promise more than you can perform." --Publilius Syrus, 1st century B.C.

Some come from modern, and even slightly unexpected, voices:

3) "Never dull your shine for somebody else." --Tyra Banks
4) "Never let go of the fiery sadness called desire." --Patti Smith

Even legendary sports stars have gotten into the act:

5) "Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit."--Wilma Rudolph
6) "Never let the fear of striking out get in your way." --"Babe" Ruth

Some have an impressive metaphorical quality:

7) "Never cut what you can untie."--Joseph Joubert
8) "Never offer your heart to someone who eats hearts." --Alice Walker

And some are beautiful examples of paradoxical phrasing:

9) "Never let your sense of morals keep you from doing what is right." --Isaac Asimov
10) "Do you wish men to speak well of you? Then never speak well of yourself."--Blaise Pascal

The conclusion? Never underestimate the power of a neverism to improve your life.

It has been a while...

I have started so many blogs recently, but none of them have been published. But today I am actually going to do it.  A lot has happened recently, and it has taken me time to process everything. I ran for Vice President of the Associated Student Body of Western Oregon University. I put in a good fight, but in the end it just wasn't enough.  This isn't the first time this has happened to me, I have lost before, and I will likely lose again sometime in my future. Luckily though, this loss didn't crush me as past losses did.  I have learned that out of every loss, out of every heartbreak, something better comes. I have seen this happen in my life twice now, and I know that it is going to happen again. The exciting thing about this is that I have absolutely no idea what this new thing is going to be! It could be anything in the world, and I am so so excited to see what God has coming my way!

In other news...I will be 20 a week from today, and I am not really sure how I feel about that. In the past I have had a countdown to my birthday because I loved it! This year though, I am not sure that I am ready for it to come.  20 just seems so...old. I know its not old, but it is going to be so weird not to be considered a teenager anymore.  I have one week left of my teenage years, what will I do with it? Well...we will have to wait and see :)

Love,
   Tayleranne

Week 4?!?

The weeks are literally flying by. I cannot believe that it is week 4 of Spring term already...it just does not seem possible.  A lot has happened in the past few weeks...past 6 weeks actually, so I have a lot to say!

I know that Spring Break was quite some time ago, but I figured I could write about it anyway? Okay good, I am glad you agree :) I went to Nashville for my break, which was a really awesome experience. Most of my time was spend helping out my mom and dad with the trade show they produce, but I got to do some sight seeing while I was there! Nashville is such a fun city, there is always something going on, and there is so much music its amazing! While I was there I got to meet Ruben Studdard, who won the 2nd Season of American Idol. His season was the first one I watched and it was because of that season that I became really invested in Idol. I don't watch it anymore, I left when Paula left.  Anyway...seeing him perform and meeting him was a really awesome experience.

My mom, Ruben, and I after the show.

After the week in Nashville I got to experience my first cross country road trip. Nashville to Eugene in about 3.5 days. Needless to say, it was a TON of driving. But, I got to see some incredibly beautiful landscape.

School started again, 4 weeks ago, and since then things have been crazy.  My schedule is about as bad as the come, Spanish at 8 am, and one class or another every night. Not my ideal schedule, but there is nothing I can do about it now.

A couple weeks ago I went on the PLUS Team Retreat, which was very special. It was a very emotional weekend, but I got to connect with some people that I would never have connected with otherwise. I can't wait for this summer and new student week! Its going to be a blast!

One last thing to say before I sign off...I got some awesome news! I was accepted to a summer leadership program through Portland State University. I applied for it in March, and I just found out I got in! Its called New Leadership Oregon and its going to be a fantastic experience! I really cannot wait!

I think thats it for now...I just have to make it through 6 more weeks and then summer is upon us! :)

Love,

Tayleranne