Treasured Possessions: Taylor Clark

Our most treasured possessions link us to the people we love and to the people who love us. They remind us of where we have come from and the experiences that have shaped who we are. They remind us of our inspirations, our aspirations, our purpose.

In these photos, Taylor Clark shows us summer fashion from Blackbird Monogram & Gift in Cape Girardeau, while sharing the stories of items she owns that hold deep meaning for her.

Here’s to summertime, and to being both interiorly and exteriorly beautiful.

 

My wedding ring is naturally a treasured possession, because it symbolizes the love and commitment between my husband and me, along with God’s love, because by trusting in him I have found someone to grow old with and watch my children grow. The harp pencil sharpener reminds me of piano lessons with my grandfather. He was a band director for 37 years and influenced so many lives. Many of his students still comment about his saying of “I Can, I Shall, I Will,” and how he was stern but loving and a father figure all in one. I model my teaching career after him. I often “preach” to my students they can do anything they put their minds to. Lastly, my dear old, beat up track shoes are extremely ugly and worn, and yet I refuse to get rid of them because they remind me of all the hard work I had to put in within my track career beginning in middle school and ending in college. There were a lot of bad days where I wanted to quit, but I wouldn’t allow myself to. There were also a lot of great victories on that path. I wear them to track practice often as a reminder to my students that if I did it, they can do it, as long as they try and never give up.

Taylor Clark, wife, mom, track coach and middle school English teacher at Charleston Middle School, poses in front of Ty’s Summer Sno and colorful buildings on Independence Street in Cape Girardeau. Photographs by Kassi Jackson.