The Essence of Taylor in Retrospect

From a distance, I may not seem like a very remarkable American teenager, being Caucasian, of average height, normally dressed, and sporting a short haircut. But with a closer look, one may see an individual well worth noting and knowing. If it is true that one’s character is defined by one’s actions, I have a much more varied personality than I might appear to have.
Even since elementary school I have had a very diverse set of friends. I had a few friends who were athletes, some from different countries like Japan or the Philippines, and some who were just complete nerds. I was surprised at myself that I was able to relate to all of them so well. This experience with so many different people at such a young age has blessed me the capability to carry on conversation with almost anyone. This truly enriched my high school experience especially. The population of Laguna Creek High School was even more diverse than I ever would have been able to imagine as a young boy, but I made many friends in many places. Sometimes I would hang out with my fellow Mathletes, or with the rest of my Leadership council, or with the Metalheads that lurked in the corners. This association with so many types of people has really widened my perspective and enabled me to see a social situation from many different points of view. This has conditioned me to love meeting people.
Having grown up in a suburb of Sacramento, California, in the quiet of my parents’ home, I learned to love country music at a very early age. My first favorite song, as a matter of fact, was “Achy Breaky Heart” by Billy Ray Sirus. But as I grew older I began to expand my musical preferences (much to my parents’ musically closed-minded disconcertment). By now I enjoy Classic Rock, Punk, Metal, Indie Rock, international R&B, Pop including French Pop, and of course, Country.
Something else that I have enjoyed since early childhood is drawing. Even as a baby, who would be expected to scribble all over a sheet of paper with a crayon, my parents tell me that I preferred a sharpened pencil and I would only draw straight lines. At that point that my parents began to enthusiastically encourage any artistic abilities I might have. They bought me several pastel, water color, and oil paint art sets so that I could get a feel for a medium that I preferred, but I still stuck to a sharpened pencil. My freshmen year of high school I took a mechanical drawing class in an engineering specialized academy and I loved it. With a simple lead holder between my fingers, and several rulers guiding my strokes, I worked wonders. I passed every mechanical drawing and computer-aided drafting class I took with the highest grade. I loved it so much and found it so easy that I graduated with the highest honor that the academy offers. But there were other artistic activities that the academy offered, for example, the wood fabrication and design class. This course requires us to learn how to build functional art from wood. By the end of my high school years I was able to build full-on wooden furniture from raw materials, and the process was, without exaggeration, so blissful, that it was almost therapeutic.
Another thing that I enjoy immensely is just to discuss. Put me in a room with a sociable, intelligent person, and I could be entertained for hours and hours. There are so many interesting topics to hear commentary on, and that is why I like smart people so much. To discuss is to open one’s mind to either correct or strengthen one’s opinions, which can do nothing but build me up. This is a big reason why my girlfriend and I enjoy each other so much. She is a very intelligent individual, and we love to discuss interesting topics for hours on end. I lose most friendly arguments, but even failing to prove a point results in a desire to study the subject and learn more about why I was wrong, and by changing my view, how I can strengthen my opinion of something.