Last Place

Yesterday I ran my first race. It was a 7K road race along the Paseo Marítimo in Coruña, it was also the most excited I've ever been to fail miserably.

I was so far beyond unprepared it's not even funny. And despite it all, I was able to finish absolutely last with a ridiculous grin on my face. The support from the spectators was incredible. The encouragement from the elite runners lapping me was overwhelming. Claps, cheers, pats on the back - probably the only reason I was able to finish.

As a relatively intelligent person, I know that failure is a part of life, a very big, very important part of life but it still doesn't feel good. Yesterday I learned just how amazing failure can feel and how good it can be for your mind, body and soul. I should probably mention that it was freezing and pouring rain the entire way. Yes, this last place as an accomplishment. It was a struggle to run the race in the first place but to add insult to injury I was being pelted by freezing rain and totally soaked through. It was all very poetic and special and I have a newfound appreciation for dry socks.

After this race, I have some serious goals. The first being to get my butt into shape to be able to run another race a little more successfully. The next, to be kinder to myself. I advocate kindness towards others in so many ways but it's not often that I give myself a break. If total strangers can cheer for me, I should probably start cheering for myself once in a while.

I'm so proud of my accomplishment yesterday and I look forward to many more miles of success and failure.

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Descendant Records

Listen to this song from The Lone Bellow before, during, or after reading this post and I promise you won't be sorry - unless you have terrible taste in music... (just kidding...but not really...)

In all seriousness, even if you aren't usually a huge fan of folksy American, indie music you have to admit lead singer Zach Williams has some real talent. I thought it was Gavin Degraw's long lost twin brother when I first heard them. If you want to know more about them, and you should, check you their site, thelonebellow.com. I'm a little sad I won't be in New York in March to see them play.

One of the things I love about The Lone Bellow is the way they talk about making music as telling their stories.

"These are true stories. These aren't things we made up. We tried to write some songs that had nothing to do with our personal stories, but we just didn't respond to them...we know each others' personal stuff and trust each other to figure out what needs to be said and how to say it" says Brian Elmquist, guitar player and vocalist. "We do this thing together, and we carry each other. Hopefully that makes the listener what to be a part of it. It becomes a communal thing, which means that there's never a sad song to sing. It's more a celebration of the light and the dark."  

Contrary to what it seems, the point of this post isn't to tell you about the awesomeness of The Lone Bellow, it's to tell you about the internship that I just applied for with Descendant Records, home to... yep! you guessed it, The Lone Bellow and another awesome band called Colony House (check them out too - über talented!!) 

I came across the postion on a job board and after a fair amount of social media stalking I became so excited about the possibility to work for Descendant Records I almost couldn't focus enough to update my resumé. I had the same feeling I got when I first emailed Michael Justin Films about an internship. 

Music is always been a huge deal in my life. If you put my iTunes songs in date order you can probably pretty accurately guess what was going on. That said, I think allowing someone access to your iTunes is one of the most vulnerable things you can do.  

Speaking of vulernability, have you checked out Standbuy.us yet? Just needed to fit in my daily dose of #standbuy because that's still hugely important to me. Ok, I digress...again. 

Even if nothing comes of my application, I am so happy to have found some new music to listen to and a new path that I could possibly pursue for a career. And I highly suggest keeping an eye on The Lone Bellow and Colony House - I predict they're going to continue making spectacular music. 

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Cancer costs, so she's doing something about it

Watch this video. It will change your life. Then, donate to her incredibly worthy cause #standbuy

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Standbuy

Dear friends,

As you might know, I've been given the tremendous privilege of working with the super incredible internet startup, Standbuy.us. I'm really excited and proud to be working for Standbuy because of the amazing ways in which they are helping people. Standbuy allows people to create personal fundraisers to help alleviate some of the financial burden of a cancer diagnosis. Even with insurance, a diagnosis can cost families hundreds of thousands of dollars. The cost of care can amount quickly and have serious financial implications for a family.

Standbuy has seen great success so far, but in order to improve our platform and better serve our clients, our amazing founder and CEO, Sashka, has created her own fundraiser. In the next month we hope to not only raise funds, but to get the word out about Standbuy. This is where you can come in. If you are able and willing to donate your dollars - thank you, thank you, thank you! But more importantly, I am asking that you please donate some social media space. Like, follow and share Standbuy on your social networks and with your family and friends.

Along with the fundraiser, we have started the #standbuyeachother campaign. To participate, share a photo and story relating to a time you were helped and supported by your friends, family or community. Use the #standbuyeachother hashtag and tag at least three other friends to share their own story. The story does not have to be cancer related, it can be about any time of need during which you were helped. 

I am immensely hopeful for the future of Standbuy and know that with just a little bit of your help we will be able to make incredible strides towards reaching our potential.

Follow the links below to Standbuy goodness!

Website: https://www.standbuy.us/
Fundraiser: https://www.standbuy.us/profiles/sashka-3d67
Sashka's Story: http://blog.standbuy.us/in-her-own-words/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/standbuy.us
Instagram: http://instagram.com/standbuy
Twitter: https://twitter.com/standbuyus

With sincere appreciation and love,

Taylor

www.standbuy.us

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