Friend #48 - Taryn

Taryn was a sickly child.  Early on, the doctors realized she was allergic to eggs, peanuts and corn.  Think about that.  Almost everything Americans eat contains some form of eggs, peanuts and corn.  And it wasn’t just a small allergy.  As a child, Taryn remembers ingesting any form of corn would literally make her skin burn.  It was like her body rejected the one thing that would nourish her:  food.

Luckily, her mom loves to cook.  Twenty years ago, there were few options for those with food allergies but Taryn’s mom found clever substitutions.  And slowly, the skinny kid became stronger.  The food allergies didn’t go away but Taryn learned how to manage them.  By the time she was in junior high, Taryn didn’t feel like the sickly kid she used to be…and she wasn’t.

Taryn’s older sister had always been in dance so when the older sister expressed interest in belly dancing, Taryn’s mom decided Taryn would also benefit from the instruction…and Taryn loved it!  Nowadays, we think of the Middle Eastern culture as ultraconservative but it is also the culture that gave us belly dancing and Arabian Nights.  Taryn learned the artistry of the dance.  She was captivated by its movement, its beauty.  She learned how the dance differed from country to country, how the Egyptian dance is very different from the Lebanese dance.  And Taryn became quite skilled at it.

When she was seventeen, she was belly dancing on a stage when she collapsed and went into anaphylactic shock.  Luckily, her mother was sitting in the audience and was well-prepared for such an emergency.  I suppose she would have to be with a child so sensitive to certain foods.  Still, the collapse was unnerving, particularly because Taryn knew she had not ingested any eggs, peanuts or corn before the performance.  The doctors were baffled.  Taryn took it easy for a while but eventually wanted to get back to dancing.  Once again, she was triggered into anaphylactic shock.  It happened a few times, actually, and always when she was exerting herself. The doctors began to dig deeper.  Taryn’s mother asked lots of questions.  Finally, Taryn went to Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine where she was tested again for food allergies and the results not only confirmed her reaction to eggs, peanuts and corn, but they also noted there were other foods that give a delayed shock to Taryn’s system, particularly when she exerts herself. 

So Taryn’s diet became even more restrictive.  Because of the food allergies she has lived with her entire life, Taryn is lean.  And tall.  Well, she’s taller than me which doesn’t necessarily make her super tall…but her lanky body gave rise to another profession.  One of the women she met through belly dancing had a husband who was a photographer.  One day, one of the husband’s models bailed on him at the last minute so his wife suggested he call Taryn in as a replacement.  She stepped in and really enjoyed the modeling experience.  That one gig created the opportunity for another and pretty soon, Taryn had a career as a model.

After moving out of her mother’s house, Taryn found a roommate named Wendy.  Wendy always lit up the room but she also hated being alone.  In fact, Wendy was almost always seen with an entourage surrounding her.  She loved being around people and Taryn couldn’t imagine anyone happier.  Then, one day, Taryn went to L.A. for a job and when she returned, she was intercepted by some friends before she could get to her front door.  While Taryn had been away, Wendy had killed herself in their apartment.  The demons in Wendy’s head had finally gotten to her.  She had always used people as the buffer to her own thoughts but with no one around, Wendy lost the fight…and her death deeply affected Taryn.

Maybe it affected her because they had been so close yet Taryn hadn’t realized the mental torment her roommate was going through.  Maybe it affected Taryn because it hit so close to home.  One peanut without the right medical treatment and Taryn might have had a similar fate. 

When I think of models, I think of the shell of a person, someone who has learned to convey beauty on the outside.  But Taryn is so much more than that.  She is sweet, down to earth and deeply soulful.  When Wendy died, modeling became more about artistry and making the onlooker of the photograph feel something inside of themselves rather than just a picture.  Taryn has gone on to model in personally meaningful shoots for breast cancer awareness and suicide prevention.  Her photographs typically reveal a message.  It is an art unlike anything I’ve known but seems in keeping with Taryn’s love of movement and expression.  When you look at Taryn’s photos, she wants the onlooker to see there is more to her than just a pretty face…because she IS more than just a pretty face.  She is the emotional tide running deep in us all.