Young Women to Watch: Taylor Moore

Taylor Moore is seventeen years old. I first encountered her in Girls Gone Mild, and since then have found a whole section of blog entries written by her on Modestly Yours. She has been raised in a single-parent home on the south side of Chicago, attended public schools, and has been a speaker on non-violence and abstinence since she was thirteen. She played for the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic and has started her own jazz band. She is confident and obviously precocious, and it has been said that she could be the President of the United States one day. I wouldn’t argue!

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In a blog entry on Modestly Yours, Taylor writes:

“Oh, it hasn’t been easy. Teens want to fit in. We want to have friends. We want people to like us. But what price are we willing to pay?  I had to pay. I wasn’t part of the ‘in’ crowd during the past four years. I could count the number of close friends on one hand and still have five fingers left over. Classmates may not have liked me–but they respected me.

“My senior year was a wonderful year, despite the toll that comes with standing on what I believe. In September, I spent a week in Washington, DC speaking to high school and junior high students about abstinence. I continued speaking engagemnts across the Chicagoland area. The Chicago Jazz Philharmonic selected me to be part of their 2007 All-Star Student Jazz Combo and the group opened for jazz vocalist Kurt Elling at the Auditorium Theatre. I formed my own jazz ensemble, Just Friends, and we have been getting gigs at different events. In the fall, I am going to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on a full-tuition scholarship.”

 Another quote, from last year (words edited for search engines):

“The main thing that’s been on my mind lately–outside of school stuff–is teen abstinence. I’ve spoken at several back-to-school rallies and I remind the girls not to worry about being s*xy; focus on being smart. I tell the guys don’t try to be hard and all thugged-out; focus on being intelligent and respectful. What do those things have to do with abstinence? Well, when young girls get caught up in the ‘Beyonce’ look and guys want to be ‘gangstas,’ this just sets the stage for making other poor decisions, like drinking, doing drugs, cutting classes, neglecting school and engaging in premarital s*x.

“The Bible tells us that our bodies are temples of God and we should consider that in all we do. What are you doing to your temple or with your temple to give Him Glory?”

I think her words speak for themselves! It’s so encouraging to see a seventeen-year-old embrace godly principles and be able to relate so well to her peers nationwide, and also to maintain a stellar performance academically. This is the kind of young woman other young girls should be looking up to!