the daily taryn #7 - kristina writes because I can't

Hi friends. As you can tell by the hour I’m sending this email, my day today was much like yesterdays, which is totally OKAY, because I planned for this…

I knew I wouldn’t have time to write tonight, so instead of leaving you hanging, I asked the one and only Kristina Lisa Gehringer to take the wheel. That’s right, folks, for tonight only (unless you like it?), the Kristina, of newsletter fame, is here. She’s not much of a freewriter so I sent her a list of questions. These are the 3 she chose to answer. Oh, and heads up that they’re obviously all about me because this is “the daily taryn” and also because she doesn’t always talk about her feelings so getting her to write them out is always fun for me. Not her, but me. Enjoy! 

“Are those dreads?” 

Seriously. Taryn and I met in college 4 years before we dated. I was a freshman (an impressionable, young socialite) and Taryn was a very cool and well-liked senior. Taryn will hate to tell you this and I’ll be surprised if it makes it to the newsletter without being edited out — she was my youth group leader at Cru :) That’s right, folks! The Lord brought us together.

I remember exactly where I was (Hassayampa D Building Floor 1 Lobby) when I met Taryn. My first thought was, “are those dreads?” and I stared at her for what now seems like an uncomfortably long amount of time, trying to figure out if they were dreads, or if she was just in the beginning stages of dreading her hair? It’s honestly still up for debate. But I quickly realized I really really liked Taryn’s personality. She is the kind of person you’re like “holy shit. you’re super cool. and funny. and I want to be your friend.” And then the first thing she asked me was “tell me your happy and your crappy for the day?” Then we ended up dating 4 years later! 

Something most subscribers won’t know: Taryn really really really hates any content or entertainment (movies, TV Shows) that has any “scary” element to it. She refuses to watch any psychological thrillers (i.e. Gone Girl is my fav, bc Rosamund Pike is a total babe!). She won’t even watch Grey’s Anatomy, which is one of my all-time favorites and IF I put on Grey’s and she isn’t even paying attention, we have to “wash it down with a light chaser to ease the bad vibes” so we’ll usually put on Friends or The Office before we fall asleep. She won’t even tolerate scary Disney movies. Guys, please write to her and tell her about all the bad ass films and shows she is missing out on!

Something only I know: impossible. There is literally nothing I know about Taryn that Deena Arnold (Mom) does not know. It’s true. Deena might even know Taryn better than I do. But if I had to guess… I’d say that one thing nobody knows is she LITERALLY, EVER SINGLE TIME takes the pizza out of the oven and never lets it cool, then bites into it and immediately gasps out “it’s so hot” with her mouth half open and head cocked back… and after so many failed attempts to remind her to let her food cool, I just stare with utter disapproval. every. single. time.

Easy. I think people really need content that is light and brings healthy perspective, and some that is for young gay women (normalizes being gay). Taryn’s posts do exactly that. Taryn will remind you of the stuff that actually matters. She will remind you of the importance of meaningful deep relationships with your family and friends, and the importance of leaving a positive impact on everyone you engage with because everyone has a story you don’t know about and you may be the only positive thing they experience that day, week, or month. She’ll remind you of how important it is to make time for the people and experiences that bring real authentic joy. She’ll probably indirectly encourage you to be generous and kind to others because she is so much that way as are her parents whom she will write about a lot. 

That’ll do for tonight, after these sponsored messages:

1. Reply back and let me know what you thought of having Kris chime in. If you liked it, I might invite Kris back, then maybe my mom or dad as well. 

2. Have any more specific questions/prompts you’d like me to talk about? Organizing them this weekend so I can start knocking them out. Already have a ton of good ones, but more are always welcome.

3. Also, my sincerest apology for accidentally leaving out the link for the thing that made me happy cry. I will now link to it here, then again here, and lastly, here, just so you won’t miss it. 

See you tomorrow, 

Taryn