Taylor Latimore: Forever Optimistic
As Taylor Latimore boards her flight to Sacramento, California this summer, many thoughts will be running through her head, especially the time she first traveled alone to San Jose, Costa Rica.
A few years ago Taylor accepted an amazing opportunity, studying abroad in San Jose, Costa Rica. Her journey began when she applied to the program and school in January of 2014. That next month, she found out that she got in.
“I was super excited and nervous,” Taylor said. “It’s really happening! I’m gonna travel across the country all by myself!”
You will never see a frown on Taylor’s face, and I mean never. She is always smiling and no matter what mood you are in, she radiates positivity and happiness to where you cannot help but to smile. I am positive that in any situation Taylor finds herself in, she will have a smile on her face.
The day Taylor left Washington for Costa Rica was a little rough. It began with a flight to Los Angeles. Her flight was delayed in the air and she almost missed her connecting flight but luck was on her side. Her flight to Costa Rica was pretty relaxing. She slept through the majority of the red-eye flight. Suddenly, it is five in the morning and Taylor lands. She instantly starts freaking out. She is in a strange country different from her own. A country that speaks predominantly Spanish. A country that uses a different currency. She had no idea where she was going. She follows the crowd of people hoping to end up at baggage claim. Once she retrieved her belongings, she followed the crowd again down the airport where everyone waited for their rides. A moment of panic hits her because she does not where she is going or who is picking her up. Soon after, she saw a guy with a sign that says “CEA” and ran over to him. CEA is the program she went through for study abroad. Luckily the guy spoke about 50% English. He had proven to be helpful. Everyone else in the program was also being picked up by the same guy. Taylor realized after the flight and getting through the airport that she was just worried about the little things and it was actually an easy experience.
Taylor learned a phrase that she will remember for years to come. Pura vida. It is a way of life. Pura vida literally means “pure life.” Pura vida has many meanings. “It is all going to work out in the end.” Pura vida is how they greet others.
As Taylor finishes out the remaining days of her undergraduate degree, she is excited, anxious and nervous about the next journey ahead. Taylor will be working in Sacramento, California with Teach for America, sending recent college graduates to teach in low income neighborhoods.
“I’m looking forward to interacting with the students,” Taylor said. “We read some sample writings from previous students in the area and they are really passionate about changing the area but they don’t know how to approach it.”
Taylor hopes to inspire her students to go to college and then come back to their hometown to make the change.
After graduating in May, Taylor will only have a few short weeks to spend with her loved ones back in Monroe, Washington, before packing her belongings and departing from the comfort of her hometown to the unfamiliar Sacramento, California; a place to call home for the next two years. She will be teaching Biology to high school students. She is worried about a few things such as the age gap between the students and the violence in the city. Regardless of what she is worried about, as long as she remembers pura vida, she knows that everything will be just fine.
