..Katie Taylor..

My first encounter with the city of Los Angeles was during my freshman year of college. When I moved to Upland, IN, I was unaware that L.A. would be waiting for me in the corn fields.

It is absolutely appropriate to say that Katie Taylor and I came from two different worlds. One visit to my hometown and to her home-metropolis would be beyond convincing. Traffic for me meant that I couldn’t get through downtown in 5 minutes. Traffic for Katie meant that instead of taking an hour to get anywhere it took 3. There was a point where I could go to the movies for around 5 bucks. Katie’s price was probably double that, even though L.A. was where they made the movies. One would think that there would be a sort of cutting out of the middle man.

There was a while where I wasn’t sure that Katie and I shared the same faith or worldview, which is wholly a reflection on my own understanding (or lack thereof) and not on Katie’s character. The thought of it makes me laugh now. Katie soon became one of my very best friends, and we enjoyed two years of doing improve comedy together in Rice Pilaf (TU’s very own). Some of the hardest laughter I have ever experienced has been in the company of Katie Taylor.

So, why am I writing about KT? KT works in film. She’s done casting, a bit of directing and a bunch of stuff I probably don’t know about or understand. She’s my go to person for questions such as, “What movies should I pay to see in the theater right now” and “explain this ‘writer’s strike’ thing to me, I’m confused”. After working for the last 5 or so years in the film industry, Katie is embarking on a new adventure. She is taking her trade as a filmmaker and moving to South Africa for at least 5 months. She is moving from an industry of uncertainty and relatively no job security into a creative humanitarian project with even more uncertainty and no pay.

Here’s the Deal.

I don’t believe in a “higher calling” in that there are certain vocations that are more “holy” or that “serve God” more than others. I believe in playing to one’s strengths and doing what one has been designed to do. One can honor God in that, or not. The choice belongs to the individual. So, I do this thing where I study in Jerusalem. I study the Bible. I will hopefully teach at some point. What I do is not more important or holy and certainly doesn’t make me a better person than someone who doesn’t do these things. It is a myth, and if anyone has believed it, I give you permission to stop feeling guilty about not being something that you are not. The other day I was talking to some folks about this. As an example, I told them, “Look, my brother loves sports. He loves competition. He’s an excellent golfer. He coordinates golf tournaments for a living. You can’t tell me that he should be doing anything else with his life. He’s been designed and gifted with the talent and people skills that his job requires, and he does it with excellence. He honors God in it. It would be wrong for him to go to seminary because it is believed to be a ‘higher calling’. That isn’t his design.”

The same is true for KT, the filmmaker. And so-and-so, the -fill in the blank-. I know people who are doing pretty incredible things in the day-to-day, making a difference simply with their presence, which is much more than I can sometimes say being holed up here, reading all the time. I wouldn’t want them to do anything else.

So, here’s to all of you making it happen day-to-day.

Please check out KT’s blog. I know that she still needs to raise some support for the project (which I believe she totally created out of holy imagination). If you find that you would like to help support her endeavor, please let me know and I will give you the necessary information (right now she has 15% of the support she needs for equipment and housing).

KT’s facebook cause page.

*I feel like this post was a bit random, but only sort of; it’s because I’m thinking about how I need to be reading for class and not blogging*