Leave Your Legacy, Taylor Did.

All of my life, I've had the same excuse. "I'm way too busy now, but I hope I can do that in the future".

With the recent events that have happened to the Burnsville Community and more so, my age group, I found that this thought weighed on me. I didn't know Taylor Ziebol very well. We met through mutual friends a couple of times and she was a year younger then me at school. We both went the FCA and I was lucky enough to see how beautiful of a person she was.

But Taylor wasn't too busy to make a difference. As a top student, a great athlete, someone who made time for her friends and family, she never forget to give back to her community. Taylor was just as involved in our high school as I was. She had just as much stuff going on, but she made the time to volunteer. She went on a mission trip to better this world, and I am in awe of the person she was. I may not have been in her inner circle, but she is from Burnsville and that makes her family. Her being ripped from our lives, so tragically, has been hard on us all.

A couple weeks before we all lost Taylor, I heard back from an organization that I applied for. My first ever volunteering gig, "Girls on the Run". This fall, twice a week, I will help coach a group of girls learn life lessons while excercising. Each week we empower girls by teaching them values and how to make it through the tough parts of life. I will have to talk to them about hard issues at a young age. Their goal is “to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.” I hope to give girls an awareness and the ability to be whatever they want to be. These girls might not always have this opportunity at home.

I am thrilled that I get to help build healthy habits in girls at a young age and show them the drive I have to be successful. Girls and children in general need to know that they make a difference, that they can do whatever they dream to.

Taylor had a lust for life and a kind heart that made anyone feel appreciated. I may not have the same talents as Taylor. However, I am passionate and hard working and believe that you can do whatever you want. Now is the busiest time of my life, between college, internships, a parttime job. But I can't push this off any longer. I can't keep saying I'll make an impact on someones life in the future. Because life is short, and everyday is a day you could change someone else's life.

I hope the best for the Ziebol family, and may they know that their daughter did more in her short life than most do in a long one.

If you'd like to know more about "Girls on the Run" and how you can get involved. Please visit http://www.gotrtwincities.org/