My name is Jacob and I am a Sophomore majoring in Economics. I'm from the Texas Hill country (a place called Bulverde, just north of San Antonio) however I was born in El Paso. Despite growing up near both the University of Texas and Texas A&M, I am actually a lifelong OU fan. My parents and grandparents were all fans of either of the other two schools, but I held my ground. My grandma would always tell me "you'll probably change your mind several times as you got older", but I knew that I wanted to be a Sooner. Originally, I had planned on majoring in Biology and eventually (hopefully) going to medical school. But my interests rapidly changed over my freshman year at OU. Growing up, I had always been very close to my Dad and I looked up to him in many ways. He was a very hard worker and an entrepreneur. His most successful business was, and is, a custom home company named J Taylor Custom Homes, named after me (also check us out at JTaylorCustomHomes.com). As I got older and became more involved with the company, I, much like my father, caught the entrepreneurial bug. So, after much deliberation with my family, I decided to change to an Economics major, and I plan on also going to Law school after OU.
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| The Texas Hill Country by Earl Mcgehee Wikipedia Commons |
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Now, my dad wasn't the only reason that I began having an interest in pursuing this type of career, I also had much interest in the stock market and cryptocurrency. When I was about 14, I attended a multi-day class on trading stocks and options. I was the only person under 40 in the class. Despite feeling very awkward, I learned a lot in the class, and I still trade stocks and invest in cryptocurrency today.
Another one of my interests/hobbies is sports. I grew up playing pretty much every sport that I could. I played baseball up until I finished high school. I played soccer until my freshman year of high school. I attempted track and field, fencing, football, and competed in gymnastics for several years. I actually won overall at the state meet when I was 10 years old. Today I don't participate in any competitive sports, however, I watch a TON of sports (my girlfriend is very grateful that the NFL season is finally almost over).
Finally, I know everyone loves this, but I am very passionate about traveling and learning as much about every country as I can. I have traveled to 7 countries, the most interesting and unique of which were when I traveled to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand on an EF tour during my Junior year of high school. That journey was easily one of the most impactful and enlightening experiences of my life. I was fortunate enough to experience several different cultures, and travel to some truly incredible landmarks including Angkor Wat, and Wat Phra Kaew (The Temple of the Emerald Buddha). I really hope to travel more as soon and the pandemic has subsided, and continue to check off bucket list locations.
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| Angkor Wat from the north lotus pond Wikipedia Commons |
Hi Jacob! I absolutely loved your introduction. Your photo choice and placement was incredible! The flow of your introduction is fantastic in the way you described your life, relationship with your dad, and how influential he was in your decisions. I bet the switch from biology to economics was hard, but it is so great that you found something you're passionate about! I also enjoyed the way you described your love for travel!
ReplyDeleteHello Jacob!
ReplyDeleteWow, I loved reading about the transition from being a bio major and on pre med and shifting to law school. Both are very long and difficult roads and I wish you the best. It really interests me how you always felt like a sooner even though you had a close connection to Texas. I think this was an amazing introduction and you touched on several different topics. I think I like it so much because it was engaging. I did not feel bored reading it during any part. I wish you good luck in the future!
Hello Jacob, the layout of your introduction is really cool this inspires me to make mine look better. I am a Biology major and I too had many doubts after Freshman year on whether I should continue this major. Sounds like you'll be a lot more motivated with your new major. Love that you're from Texas and you've been a lifelong OU fan. I'm very jealous of all the places you've traveled too I have never been out of the United States and you added to my thrive to want to travel.
ReplyDeleteHi Jacob! I am a fellow Texan as well, but I grew up in a suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. I took several family road trips to San Antonio growing up, but I have not been to Bulverde. I had never considered OU until my senior year of high school, so that's really interesting that you have always wanted to come here. Did you have any connection to the school at all? I am glad you found your passion in business, and it's super cool you have an actual company named after you!
ReplyDeleteOh, bluebonnets! Thank you for that lovely picture, Jacob! We lived in Austin as a little girl, and bluebonnets were my favorite. I still feel all sentimental whenever I see them.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is SO COOL that you have been to Vietnam and Cambodia and Thailand: wow! That would be a dream-come-true for me. I am a fan of the stories and art and music and food from all those places, especially Thailand. One of the reasons I wanted to do the Tiny Tales Ramayana book was so that I could include some of the wonderful Ramayana legends that come from Thailand; the Ramayana is incredibly important there, and in so many other parts of South and Southeast Asia. Wat Phra Kaew: one of the most beautiful depictions of the Ramayana ever. It is so wonderful to know that you have been there, and I hope you will enjoy getting to learn about India and the Indian epics which, like you, have traveled all over south Asia. :-)
Hey Jacob!
ReplyDeleteI am really glad that you found what you ultimately wanted to do. I have changed majors so many times while here at OU. I finally settled on psychology and am hopefully going to graduate in December. I have always wanted to learn about the stock market and cryptocurrency, but no one in my family knows anything about it. I may just have to do what you did. I would love to travel. So far, I have only been to India. I want to travel to many more places. The picture of Angkor Wat is so gorgeous!
Very nice meeting you, Jacob! I really like the layout of your blog and the images you included in this post. I think it is really cool reading about how you came to be an economics student! I think it is really good that you got a head start on stocks and all of that. I had only heard about them in movies and stuff and never really thought they were a real thing until i was graduating high school. I'm also very jealous of how much you travel! I have only ever traveled in the U.S. and would really like to visit some other countries one day.
ReplyDeleteHey Jacob, glad you chose to come to the right school and got out of Texas! On a serious note, that is awesome that you decided to pursue your entrepreneurial passion from what your dad taught you. I think every business major, regardless of the specification wants to do something on their own so they can work for themselves. It sounds like you already have a leg up, good job!
ReplyDeleteHi Jacob! I think it is really impressive how ambitious you are! I also originally wanted to major in biology and attend medical school. I used to have my hopes set on being a pediatric surgeon! But like you, my interest quickly changed and I am now a psychology major. I think it's really cool how you've been so involved with economics since you were 14! I definitely had no knowledge or interest in the economy at that age, or even now haha! Good luck this semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Jacob,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you have found a major that you seem to enjoy and love! You clearly have such a passion for what your Dad does as well as it being interesting for reasons other than your Dad! I am a pre-med person attending medical school next year, so it is a little sad to see someone diverge from science! :) However, we definitely need great entrepreneurs in the world, so I hope you love what you do and maybe some day you could carry on your Dad's legacy.
Hi Jacob! I have been in the same boat as you as not knowing what I wanted to do in college and what career path I wanted to pursue. Sometimes, it takes doing a little bit of them all to figure out what exactly you want to do. I hope you continue to travel the world! There are so many cool places out there and when I get the time, I also want to travel all over (mainly to try as many different food places as possible). I hope you have success in the future Jacob!
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