Assignment 8- Katie Taylor

Writing Territories

Fears: death, bugs, living a life without meaning

Annoyances: it really depends on my mood. Usually I'm easy-going but if I'm ticked off, everything annoys me. Also, politics.

Accomplishments: section leader, all A's throughout my academic career, beat (for the most part) an eating disorder, made All-State band this past winter, have gone viral a few times on TikTok

Confusions: for the longest time up until a few months ago, my sexuality. Also, physics and what I want to be when I grow up.

Sorrows: death of an idol, a missed connection, failure to break my bad habits, injustice, loneliness

Dreams: to do what I love for a living and make an impact on this world so I won't be forgotten when I die. I also want a nice apartment in NYC and a country house on at least 5 acres of land.

Idiosyncrasies: I have OCD, so basically all of my rituals/compulsions are idiosyncrasies. 

Risks: I will be applying to a lot of distinguished colleges next year. I also have tried out for various teams and honor bands over the years. I suppose every time I drive it's a risk, too. 

Beloved Possessions-

now: my trombone and music, my tiktok, my clothes, my jewelry, my dogs

then: my American Girl dolls and my dollhouse, and that one orange dress I insisted upon wearing almost every day as a three-year-old.

Problems: OCD, worrying about the future, my messed up jaw, motivation for virtual learning

Bugs will always, well, bug me. My first recollection of being afraid of a bug was when I was three. I was taking a nap, and I looked down my bed and saw a huge beetle crawling up towards my head. A few years later, I remember being at my grandparents' house and accidentally stepping in a cricket trap, getting crickets stuck all over my pant leg. I also witnessed one of my preschool teachers get stung by a bee. Seeing her hop up and down in pain scared me. I suppose this lifetime fear of bugs was just an early sign of my OCD tendencies, as I could not be in the same room as a bug. To this day, I just can't bring myself to even kill a bug. They just gross me out so much. I don't know how to explain why, they just do. I imagine them crawling in my mouth when I'm sleeping, and the feeling of crushing a bug in a tissue.