I suppose the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. While I was a teenager, I believed I gained my mother's need to want to help people. I'm very caring and love to meet others who need it more. I will not hesitate to lend a helping hand or offer it when they need it most. I often volunteer in my free time with animals or people. I don't mind either way. I am creative; I like to draw and write. I also like playing musical instruments like the piano and the guitar. I learned how to play at a young age.

My negative personality traits include being stubborn; I have a hard time changing my mind once I come up with an idea. And it will take a long time for me to fix it. I am impulsive. I will react to things on emotions rather than thinking things through in the end. I am a workaholic. I am impulsive, as I often only act on emotions. I am overcritical of myself. I tend to not give myself enough credit towards things or when they are due. I am also impatient and tend to rush things when they should be thought more clearly at times.

My name is Allison Renee Taggart. I was born on a ranch in Big Sky, Montana. My parents are Brennan Taggart and Korieander Marie Taggart. They met in an unusual way when my mother had a study abroad program in Ireland with several of her friends. My father, Bren, was from Ireland; it was love at first sight. When my mom had to leave and go back to her homeland in Montana, she got her first kiss from him, and you could say the rest was history.

I was the fourth born into the family. I was surrounded by love. I would say I was a curious baby and a happy one. I usually don't cause that much trouble. But as soon as I could walk, I was looking at everything and learning how to navigate my small world in my home.

When I was four years old, I got my first minibike, and I learned how to ride it. It was so much fun. I graduated up to a dirt bike and learned to ride on the track. I participated in motocross. I won quite a few trophies from competing in races.

One of the boys caught my eye almost immediately. He was cute, alright. His name is Lawson Garard. We did everything together as kids. We played games and spent time at the clubhouse. Lawson and I spent our evenings on the porches of our family homes. I remember challenging him on my minibike around the makeshift racetrack that I made. And I beat him. I think he had gone easy on me because I was a girl. I was very competitive at such a young age. He did challenge me several more times as we got older, and I think more than once we ended up with a draw because it was so close.

In high school, I participated in several sports, such as cheerleading, and soccer. They were my favorites, and I was excellent in them. And I continued them through high school. I was falling head over heels with Lawson. We were becoming more than close friends. He was my everything. I asked him out on a date. That very evening, as I asked him if we could become boyfriend and girlfriend. After that, we were together and started to kiss as we watched the sunset.

Tragedy struck when I was in my third year of high school. I was home for the holidays. I knew who was up on that mountain; my family members were trying to gather up some loose cattle that had gotten away. It was shortly after New Year's. Snow had been on the ground, and an avalanche struck. I saw the whole thing as the snow fell right into the path of my loved ones. I was devastated. The High Mountain Rangers went up hoping to rescue survivors, instead it turned into a recovery mission. No one survived.

Other days, I notice myself getting distracted a lot. Other days, I don’t want to do anything at all but cry. My mom made sure I remember how awful those funerals were. Saying goodbye to my family was one of the hardest things that I had done in a long time. It felt like a piece of me had died with them.

For now, I’m trying to dig myself out of this hole. I am surrounded by my family. I have to start focusing on school again and what matters there. My family is here to help, and I’m going to hold onto them tight. And not let go.