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Taylor Hirth was born on the outskirts of Minneapolis / St. Paul, and spent the first 13 years of her life as a relatively conservative young girl. She then moved to Olathe, Kansas, at the beginning of high school (Spring Hill High, a small school of about 300 at the time).

Having been born and raised in a busy suburban town, country living was somewhat of a culture shock and she found herself quietly at odds with many of her classmates' views of "the real world." Family trouble, which had been brewing since she was young, spiked around the age of 16 when her parents finally began a very long, drawn out break-up process. The next few years found Taylor dealing with some extremely traumatic experiences alone. She explains that during that time, she began wavering in and out of various self-destructive tendencies and a cycle of bad decisions.

Somewhere along the way, Taylor says that she learned how to function as a member of society in her own way. Having grown up used to a life of constant disruption and agitation, these are things she's naturally comfortable with and now even seeks. This also became the foundation for her passion for philosophy and politics. Taylor dropped out of community college twice before getting her associates degree in general studies at the age of 22. At that point, she made a spur-of-the-moment decision to join the Navy. Different days drew out different motives for her decision: financial stability; the raucous experience of being in the center of chaos; and a desire to pursue journalism, inspired by legendary muckraker Lincoln Steffens.

Taylor did not support the recent wars overseas. She did think that perhaps, as a journalist in the US Navy, she could have a positive impact on what was going on. Taylor was told by a commanding officer, very forcefully, that if she disagreed with the course of actions the government was taking, that she did not belong in the military. A bit taken aback, Taylor then decided to look into the censorship practices of the military. This lead her to further research about our foreign interventions, from why we were attacked to 9/11, to our involvement in bringing Saddam Hussein to power. Knowing she would end up resisting censorship on moral grounds, Taylor decided it was best not to put herself in positions where she would have any desires to overstep the chain of command.

By Saint Patrick's Day, 2008, Taylor had moved to California to live with her father, where she spent an evening out on the town instead of showing up for boot camp. She spent the year following the election closely, especially since she was in the middle of the Prop 8 controversy. By the end of 2008, she found herself missing the calmness and community-feel of the Midwest. Feeling that her life was lacking direction, Taylor moved back to Kansas City, this time to the Missouri side of the state line.

Local and foreign policy have since become some of her obsessions. She explains her decision to return to college,

"The stagnant indoctrination I've found running rampant in the media lead me away from journalism and towards a course where I can someday more directly impact the world around me. I'm currently studying at UMKC, pursing my bachelors degree in Political Science, and a minor in Communications. My educational goals include attending law school when I graduate in 2011, eventually lobbying Congress or running for public office. I recently finished an internship in grassroots advocacy at Planned Parenthood where I solidified my decision to pursue a career in politics and advocacy. I plan to continue my activism by collaborating with many different local and national organizations including NOW, NARAL, and the Human Rights Campaign. I'm currently working on starting up a national pro-choice clinic defense coalition and organizing a pro-choice student group at my college."

We can't help but believe that Taylor is going to be a force of nature, someone who makes real differences in the lives of others. She has just the right amount of honesty, courage, determination and creativity. We're honored that she'll write here at EverydayCitizen.com while she pursues her passions!

Taylor welcomes you to view her words here.