Motivational Monday: Meet Taylor Farley, Model Beauty USA 2015

Happy Monday from Lady Code! For most of us, Mondays are difficult and we might feel like the day is dragging and the week will drag even more. If you’ve been keeping up with Lady Code, you may remember our guest blogger (and my sister), Melissa Opie would always most on Mondays with Melissa’s Motivational Mondays. Melissa is now working full time as a life coach and you can still keep up with her here: http://www.melissaopie.com/blog/

Since she is now very caught up in her thriving career (yay!), I’ll taking over Lady Code’s Motivational Mondays! I’m kicking it all off with Taylor Farley, Model Beauty USA 2015!

Taylor is a former victim of domestic abuse and bullying. She has since then created her own organization, the Beauty Empowered Project, to help victims of domestic violence and to raise awareness. We interviewed Taylor on her past experiences, how she overcame these adversities, and asked her to share advice for current victims of domestic violence and bullying. Please read and share Taylor’s incredible and inspiring story, and make sure you subscribe to Lady Code for more motivation!

Meet Taylor:

I’m Tayla Renee Rosa Covington-Farley, or Taylor Farley for short, I’m 21 years young, and I am first generation American. Self-described makeup fanatic and beauty pageant fan, I love all things that can a woman feel beautiful and loved. Raised in beautiful sunny, Southern California, there is a love of nature and a feeling of laidback and carefree attitude within who I am. I retired from Sport Karate in 2013, after winning multiple national awards to focus more on pageantry and giving back to the community; to save girls and young women from the trials and tribulations that is domestic violence.

Favorite…

Movie: To Save a Life

Actress: Emilia Clark

Quote: “If you dream of something worth doing and then simply go to work on it and don’t think anything of personalities, or emotional conflicts, or of money, or of family distractions; it is amazing how quickly you get through those 5,000 steps.” -Edwin Land

Book: Anything by Tamora Pierce

Fragrance: Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift

Food: Greek salad!

Hobbies: Dance, Hiking, Photography, Handmade crafts

Tell us about the Beauty Empowered Project:

The Beauty Empowered Project is an organization to raising awareness for domestic violence. As a personal survivor of domestic violence by my parents, I vowed that I would help other women to overcome their pain and direct their attentions into something positive; to empower them to be stronger and fight towards a better life. For most of my life, I was stuck in a household that forced me to become a mother at the age of 8. I would go without so my siblings could have what they needed.

It was super hard not being able to have a childhood and I didn’t quite understand what I was going through until I knew what domestic violence was. I worked nights to build an income for my family and most of the time, that money went into someone else’s pocket. I worked three jobs at one point, just so that we could survive. When I was sixteen, I found out that I had survived three abortion attempts on my life. It made me even more depressed and I further sank into a deep pit. I tried going to my friends for help and I wasn’t able to get help from anyone because I had my family trying to hospitalize me for being schizophrenic.

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I always knew that I was intelligent and I had a place to be myself and be safe. My boyfriend was the only one who believed me and he saw everything that happened because we’d skype and he’d want to watch over him. He rescued me from my pit of depression and saved me from a very unsafe place.

When I finally had the chance to get out and become someone, I vowed that I would do my best to try and end domestic violence, be it an abusive significant other, or your parents, in my case. I prayed and prayed, asking God if there was anything I could do. He laid on my heart, The Beauty Empowered Project, an organization dedicated to helping women and making people more aware of domestic violence.

What can readers do in their communities to stop domestic violence or get involved

with the Beauty Empowered Project? First things first, you need to get help. There are others out there who have gone through the same things. The abuser creates a dependency so that the one being abused won’t leave. Get out! Go to the police! They can help you, protect you and bring justice to the one who abused you.

As for readers, I encourage you to get out and there and be there for those who have been abused. They want to feel loved and they want to have a place to belong. Be there for them. As for getting involved with the Beauty Empowered Project, your prayers and support are greatly needed. It’s been around for a few months and it’s still taking off. We’ve partnered with the short film The Price of Beauty in Bedford County, Virginia to raise awareness.

Tell us about your 5-year plan: I honestly can say that I don’t even have a 2 year plan. Life will take you where you need to go and you just have to follow it. I’d like the Beauty Empowered Project to be a national organization and I’d like to be married. Possibly, a titleholder in either the Miss USA or Miss Galaxy systems. (I’m in training!)

You have a Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering! What inspired you to choose your major?

I’ve always had two passions growing up; Cooking and flying. I never thought I’d be able to live off a chef’s salary so naturally, I defaulted to my other passion. The feeling of flying is so freeing, the stresses of everyday life seem to just fade away into the background of clear blue sky and you aren’t distracted by things that keep you grounded.

What is the best advice you have ever received? Do what makes you happy to live a full and long life. My grandfather taught me that and since then, I’ve been doing my best.

How did you first respond to bullying? I was bullied right from the start. I was shy and quiet and I just took it. I never said a word, nor did I go to anyone for help. I had my nose broken multiple times and I’d sit at home, crying because I thought everyone hated me. I became a martial artist to learn how to defend myself and continued to participate in beauty and scholarship pageants to boost my self esteem and to prove to myself that I was beautiful in every single way.

How did you overcome bullying? Pageants helped so much, because I had a chance to feel beautiful and just be myself; no bullies to come after me. I realized that bullies are people who just need to be loved and they crave attention; they just don’t know positive ways to get positive attention.

What would you say to your former bullies right now?

I forgive you. I forgive you for all the times you’ve hurt me, mentally, physically and emotionally. You were in a dark place in your life and you didn’t deserve to have negative intentions because you are a human being. We all make mistakes, and I forgive you.

Do you have any advice for current victims of bullying?

Know that bullies crave attention. They will try and get it anyway they can. You need to know that you were created to be unique and beautiful! No one will ever be able to change that. Take heart in the fact that you are not alone. Bullies are everywhere and there are so many victims of bulling. Seek them out and ask for their advice. Be strong and be confident. You are you for a reason. There is no one like you so flaunt it!