ABOUT ME:

My name is Taylor, AKA "Laila Amira".

I'm American, female, and a Christian. I am a college student majoring in International & Cultural Studies, with a focus on the Middle East, and a double minor in English/Writing and Sociology.

I speak passable Spanish and Arabic, and really bad French.

Things I can offer advice on - feel free to ask away and I'll do my best to answer:
1. Lots of police and military weapons and procedures.
2. Spanish and Arabic phrases. (I'm not fluent, but my Spanish is passable. My standard conversational Arabic is pretty basic, but I know a lot of military, police, and medical terms. I know a lot of those same terms in Spanish, too.)
3. Medical terms, procedures, and conditions.

Medical Stuff: I was born four months premature, with mild Cerebral Palsy (mainly affects my left arm and leg) and Hydrocephalus (treated with a VP shunt). I've had too many doctor visits, tests, and hospital stays to count, and have had 20 operations in my life.

When I'm not in the hospital or visiting it for testing, I enjoy reading, writing stories/novels, hiking, camping, rifle and pistol target shooting, international travel, and hanging out with friends and family.

Police/Military Stuff: Criminology and all things military/law enforcement are another passion of mine. My dad was a police officer for thirteen years (before I was born), and an investigator for several more years after that. I have grown up with law enforcement and military members, and from a young age was taught to respect them and help them in any way that I could. Since June 2007, I have worked as a volunteer "victim" for police and medical training exercises, which is how I discovered moulage (injury makeup).

Target Shooting: My dad is a former police officer, and has taught me to handle pistols and rifles. I shoot both a .22 (Walther and Smith&Wesson) and a 9mm (Glock) pistol, as well as a Marlin .22 bolt-action rifle and a Beretta CX4 9mm Carbine rifle.

Travel: I'm majoring in International Studies in college. I am fascinated by languages and cultures, and I love to travel. I spent three weeks on a language study trip in Spain in June 2009, and six weeks on a medical mission trip in Jerusalem, Israel (working with an organization that brings children from Gaza and Iraq/Kurdistan to Israel for life-saving heart surgery) in May/June 2010.

I hope to eventually either have a job with the FBI or some other law enforcement/government agency, or work with the Red Cross or some other humanitarian relief agency. I'm happy with anything that will let me travel and use my language and medical skills!

My Favorites

Favorite Authors: Karen Kingsbury, Lurlene McDaniel, James Herriot, Tom Clancy, and Joel Rosenberg.

Favorite Magazines: Guideposts, Reader's Digest, TIME, Voice of the Martyrs

Comic Strips: Family Circus, Zits, For Better or For Worse

Movies: Prince of Egypt, Not Without my Daughter, Phantom of the Opera, Sahara, Home Alone 1 & 2, Night at the Museum, Evan Almighty, Freedom Writers, The Guardian, Hotel Rwanda, Invisible Children documentary, To Save A Life, The Blind Side

TV Shows: 24 (BEST. SHOW. EVER.), Glee, Lie To Me, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, ALIAS, Prison Break, The Nine, Amazing Race

Actors: Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Raver, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Jennifer Garner, Jayne Atkinson, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Annie Wersching, Matthew McConaughey, Matt Damon

Type of Music: Christian, Arabic, Celtic

Bands/Artists:
Celtic: Enya, Celtic Woman, Clannad, Blackmore's Night
Arabic: Samira Saied, Hakim, Cheb Mami, Elissa
Spanish: Juanes, Las Ketchup, Carlos Vives, Ricky Martin
Christian: Hillsong United, Chris Tomlin, Third Day, Selah, Robin Mark, NeedToBreathe

Sports/Activities: Reading, creative writing, horseback riding, hiking, camping, rifle and pistol target shooting, moulage makeup, hanging out with friends.

Travel Spots: Colorado, Arizona, Vancouver/British Columbia, Mexico, Spain, Jordan, Israel

Food: Pizza, pasta, tacos, Qdoba nachos, anything chocolate, Middle-Eastern food, apples, nectarines.