Stephanie Taylor, the free bird
Stephanie Taylor. I love the girl to death, I really do but boy is she a rough one sometimes. She is the epitome of a free bird. I met her when I was eleven. She lived just down the block from me growing up. Her parents were always out of town for work so she stayed home a lot with her live-in grandma, which now that I’m older, realize she must’ve had dementia. God rest her soul she was such a sweet woman.
Steph was usually hanging out at my house growing up, my parents basically raised her as their own. When high school rolled around and her parents weren’t home she had so much free range which included lots of parties. She was always the cool girl in school, but never a mean one. I envied her at times and still do now, just in a different kind of way. She’s gorgeous, she can be barbie’s twin. She’s tall, long blonde hair with deep blue eyes that carry a sweetness to them. She always had the boy’s attention, she can get an A+ with flirting. Now, I’m not going to tear myself down and feel sorry for myself. I’m a modest person but I’m not the worst looking girl in the world. I did pagents for two years when I was around 15 because my “eyes were so captivating” according to a pagent coordinator that approached my mom and I at the mall. I have heterochromia so I have one blue eye and one brown. At one point I wanted to get contacts so I had the same colored eyes like everyone else. In grade school, kids thought I was weird but when I got to high school everyone thought it was interesting and cool. I like my eyes now but it’s always a topic of conversation whenever I meet someone new.
The pagents were awful, I hated the whole thing and the other girls were so catty and competitive, they all just tore each other down. Sure, I liked dressing up in beautiful gowns and heels that made me feel taller than I am. I’m 5’5 so I’m not terribly short but next to these girls I felt like a child next to them. Two years in, Stephanie told my mom how unhappy I was and that I wasn’t eating lunch anymore at school in order to stay slim. I felt betrayed by Steph that day for tattling to my mom but when all was said and done I couldn’t be more thankful that she did that for me. My mom made me quit immediately after that and what a relief. Stephanie has always had my back since day one and I know she always will, just as I for her.