thebabyperks

As it is Father's Day, it's only appropriate to dedicate a blog post to you, so here I go.

Dad,
You are an incredible person and have made an impact on so many people, whether it be through the people you help at work, the youth group, or our family. You have taught me so much and I can never thank you enough.

You may not be a man of many words, but your actions speak volumes. You are one of my biggest inspirations, even though I know I don't tell you that enough.
I am so thankful that you passed on your love of traveling to me, and I am forever grateful for the amazing trips we are able to go on and the places we are able to explore. Our vacations are some of my favorite family memories. 

We took a helicopter ride over an active volcano in Hawaii!

When you biked up the mountain in Hawaii in 13,000+ feet elevation (I cheered from the car)

Thank you for always making me laugh, spontaneous bike trips, and lots of love. You are the best dad I could have asked for and you deserve the best. I am going to miss you so much in college, and I hope that I can continue to make you proud.

Love,
Taylor 

Today I woke up to the tragic news that Christina Grimmie had been murdered last night signing autographs after a concert in Orlando. When I first heard about the news, I was scrolling through Facebook. At first it was just news articles mentioning a "Christina from the Voice" but I didn't make a connection until I saw Carson Daly's, from the Today Show (& "The Voice"), statement. My jaw completely dropped. 

Christina Grimmie was like one of those old friends who you haven't talked to in a while but has still made an impact in your life. Christina Grimmie was the reason I bought my first keyboard in ~2010. I wanted to be like her and thought I could just pick up playing the piano by ear like she did, long story short... I never was able to. Nonetheless, I still loved watching her videos and performances. She was cool, she was a Christian, and she was relatable. She was so loving and open, too, which just made her even more likable. 

I bought her first album and listened to it on repeat, however, as the years went by I lost touch with Grimmie. I still followed her on all her social media platforms and was subscribed on YouTube, but I never watched "The Voice" and didn't buy her most recent albums. I still watched many of her YouTube videos, I just didn't keep up with her as much I used to. 

This didn't stop the sting when I woke up this morning and processed the fact that Christina was gone. It felt like the six years ago, when I first discovered Grimmie, was yesterday.

What makes this even worse is the fact that it was a senseless crime. The suspect ended an innocent young woman's life. He also has put permanent images of the event in the mind of her brother forever (Christina's brother tackled the suspect after he shot her). He has placed tragedy in the lives of so many friends and family of Christina, and has created a world that will never completely be "okay" for them again.

Christina Grimmie-- I want to thank you for your passion to music and life in general. Thank you for inspiring so many people, especially me. Even if I have no musical ability whatsoever, you still impacted me with your voice. I want to extend my thoughts and prayers to the Grimmie family as they mourn and try to process the events they have to face over the past day. 

Until next time,
Taylor xx

Here are some of Christina's videos you may want to check out:
"Just A Dream"- KHS, Sam Tsui, Christina Grimmie
"O Holy Night"
"Firework" by Katy Perry Cover
"Rolling in the Deep" Cover