One. This week I cat sat while my mom was out of town. I wasn’t exactly a fan of waking up at 3:30 every morning to meowing for God knows what, but I did get to accomplish some things while having the place all to myself. Like this…
Two. In case you all haven’t caught on to the fact that I love my job yet, I’ll just put in another shameless plug for ArtForceIowa and the privilege I have to work with the youths.
Here is the DSM Immigrant Hero video that the group I worked with made last week. Alejandro is a gem. We loved getting to hear about his job, heart, and vision:
Here are some of the t-shirt designs the kids have made through our screen-printing workshop. They are available to purchase here.
Here is a grid project we made in Art workshop on Thursday.
Three. I giggled about this sighting at the DSM Farmer’s Market for a long time. Come on, mom and dad! You’re supposed to catch these things. Hehehehe.
Four. While completing loan counseling for graduate school this week, I had a mild panic attack at how much student loan debt I will graduate with. It’s giving me second thoughts about the whole thing! I hate that everything comes down to the dollars in life. Fear & Logic Taylor is fighting with YOLO-Spirit Taylor and it’s a mess. I think YOLO-Spirit Taylor is winning, though.
Five. I volunteered with a group of friends at the DSM Art Festival’s beer and wine tent Saturday afternoon. It was so much fun! Then we spontaneously had a tiny early celebration of my birthday, which I will sadly be gone for next week. We hot tubbed in a downpour, ate pizza and listened to live music, bought desserts at Gateway Market, danced to Katy Perry in Emily’s kitchen, and all crashed watching Moonrise Kingdom.
Six. Friday night was book club with these beauties. We read Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (to which no one gave a score lower than 9/10. You won our hearts, Chimamanda. You won.). But for real, it was probably the best book I’ve read all year. I’ve read a couple of her books and she is a master story-teller. Americanah was extremely thought provoking, every topic it touches ripe with importance and incredible observation. The characters felt astonishingly real, wielding sentences that could pierce right through me. It is ballsy, exposing, and brilliant. Next on the list is An Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.
Seven.
People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
-Mother Teresa
Love,
Taylor
Love, Taylor 
