The online student news source of Lovejoy High School

The Red Ledger

The online student news source of Lovejoy High School

The Red Ledger

The online student news source of Lovejoy High School

The Red Ledger

Working toward tomorrow

Junior shares love, gratitude for mom
Junior+Sydnee+Taylor+stands+with+her+mother%2C+Uyen%2C+who+is+wearing+traditional+Vietnamese+clothing.+Uyen+moved+from+Vietnam+to+the+United+States+when+she+was+8+years+old.
Olivia Lauter
Junior Sydnee Taylor stands with her mother, Uyen, who is wearing traditional Vietnamese clothing. Uyen moved from Vietnam to the United States when she was 8 years old.

No verbal affection or display of appreciation. No hugging, ‘I miss you’s’ or ‘I love you’s.’ Uyen Taylor, junior Sydnee Taylor’s mom, didn’t talk to her parents during her teenage years but wants her children to confide in her when needed.

In friend drama, school drama or advice, Sydnee calls her mom. Uyen hops in the car and drives to Sydnee no matter where she is to talk through the drama.

Sydnee smiles, slightly laughs and glances at her mom as she talks about everything she has done for her.

When Uyen was 8 years old, she fled from Vietnam to Colorado with her family of seven. They came with the clothes on their back, one duffle bag stuffed with one extra outfit for each person and important paperwork. As the plane landed, a different world sat outside the airport.

Life in the three bedroom basement was the repeat of school to home before dark while Uyen’s father worked two jobs to make ends meet. There were no Sonic stops or piano lessons, but Uyen wanted to provide her children more opportunities. 

Sydnee and Uyen embrace in a hug while Sydnee expresses her gratitude.

Growing up, Uyen hated school until she went to college where it enhanced her love of learning new languages. Uyen can speak French, a little Vietnamense, English from the help of her childhood neighbors and is now back at school learning ASL (American Sign Language). After years of being a stay at home mom, Uyen went back to school in 2012 and earned a medical degree to go with her business degree.

Sydnee proudly speaks about her mom’s ability to change her situation, and turn it into the family she has today. 

Even though Uyen desires to raise her children differently than how she was raised, Sydnee hopes to do the opposite. She wants to embody the traits of her mother’s parenting- with the notion of hard work.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover
About the Contributors
Calla Patino, Editor-In-Chief
Strolling into her third year on staff, senior Calla Patino is ecstatic to be back in the newsroom as an Editor-In-Chief, leaving her summer days of folding clothes behind. If she’s not in the newsroom, she can almost always be found at Celebration Park running her miles with her teammates, trying to breathe. Towards the end of the day, Patino enjoys baking her “famous” snickerdoodles, as it’s the only recipe she has perfected in the kitchen, and flip-flopping between Netflix and Hulu. Patino loves her family’s weekly BBQs and making time to hang out with friends. Patino is obsessed with cinnamon-flavored anything, relaxing in the movie club with a bag of popcorn in her hand and traveling to South Africa. Patino hopes to go into journalism after she graduates, but as for now, she can’t wait for this school year to begin. 
Olivia Lauter, Section Editor
Heading into her fourth and final year in TRL, senior Olivia Lauter could not be more thrilled to soak up every last minute of shooting sports, events and portraits for her favorite publication. Lauter has spent every day of her high school career with a camera around her neck, and you won’t catch her without it until graduation day. As well as being the photo editor for TRL, Lauter is a varsity cheerleader and involved in PALS and NHS. When she’s not on the sidelines with her camera or cheering on the Leopards, Lauter is with her friends, who she adores more than life itself. You will probably hear “last time, best time” and how “bittersweet” senior year is continually from Lauter this year, but she is just excited to spend one more year doing what she loves alongside the people she loves on TRL.

Comments (0)

The Red Ledger values the opinion of its readers and encourages them to discuss its content. All comments are subject to approval by The Red Ledger staff. The Red Ledger does not allow anonymous comments and requires a valid email address. The email address will not be displayed but will be used to confirm your comments. Comments are reviewed as often as possible. Comments with inappropriate content will not be published. Once submitted, comments become the property of The Red Ledger. To see our full Comment Policy, visit https://www.theredledger.net/about-us/policies/
All The Red Ledger Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *