Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Butler.
Taylor, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My story has many complexities.
For starters, I grew up in a diverse community in Los Angeles, California. I grew up in a Christian home with both parents and my younger sister, Tyler. My father, an Army Vet, and my mother, a dental insurance provider relations rep, did very well – making my upbringing pretty cushy. I lacked nothing and hardly wanted for much. My parents were hard workers and made it their business to provide my sister and I with everything they didn’t have.
Because of my parent’s work ethic and desire to provide, I spent a lot of time with my grandmother in her home. My parents felt that it’d be safer and more economically efficient for my sister and I to spend out after school time with family, as opposed to running the streets or going to an expensive aftercare program with minimal supervision. So each day, my grandmother would pick us up from school and I’d spend the afternoon doing homework, working on my basketball moves in the front yard with my cousins, learning to cook some of my grandmothers’ special recipes; while waiting for my parents to pick us up later in the evening after they’d gotten off of work. These are some of my fondest memories……and some of the hardest ones’ to reflect on.
Whilst hanging out at grandma’s house was one of my favorite past-times, at the age of eleven, it became the most dreaded. When I culminated to middle school and became one of the ‘big kids’, my grandma began to trust me a bit more. Often times, she’d run errands and allow me to stay behind with my older cousins because she trusted me to stay out of trouble. But what she didn’t know is that while she was out for her errands, my older cousin (my uncle’s oldest step-son) was molesting and raping me. This continued for nearly three years. The sexual abuse, coupled with idle threats and verbal abuse kept me from disclosing the abuse until 2008, a month shy of my 16th birthday.
On April 1, 2008 – I wrote my parents a letter that shattered their hearts and changed our family dynamic forever. This painful truth that I’d been exposed to such heinous acts at the hands of a family member grieved them. It challenged their beliefs that they’d kept me safe from harm by leaving me in the hands of family. It challenged my entire belief system. It left me in shock.
Between 2008 and 2019, I started and stopped therapy numerous of times, fell in and out of love a time or two, celebrated wins and grieved losses, gained and lost friends, a failed suicide attempt, and I even changed career paths a few times, too. All the while, my faith in God was shaken and I was barely holding on. I was living day to day, simply trying to survive. There was no focus, no hope, no real plan, no passion. I lacked real identity and was walking around unhealed.
In April of 2019, I reluctantly obeyed a word that I received from God and moved to Atlanta; I believe that this is what saved my life. Since being here in Atlanta, I have made mistakes, learned valuable life lessons, made covenant friendships, and even found true identity. My first 4-5 months here were rocky, I was still trying to find my way and was living an unauthentic life. As a result of unhealed trauma, I struggled in my identity.
Finally, at the end of 2019 and now well into 2020, I have found a rhythm – I have found me. Interestingly enough, it took a cross country move and a catastrophic pandemic to cause me to find peace. At the top of this year and during the early phases of this pandemic, I sought therapy, deliverance and freedom. During the summer of 2020, I enrolled in a course devoted to rigorous healing and honesty – and I believe that amongst the many other pit stops towards healing I’d made the year, that this was the icing on the cake. In the Vault, the eight weeks summer intensive led by Sharde D. Martin – I was able to not only solidify identity but truly forgive my abuser, commit myself and my life journey to God, find community and strengthen my covenant friendships. This is where I found truth and passion again. And because of this, and tons of encouragement from my family and one of my best friends’ Zaykeria Miranda, I was able to breathe life into my passion; my newest business endeavor ‘Eat Taystee’.
My story, while unconventional as it is, is proof that like the scripture says, ”All things work together for the good of them who love God and are called according to HIS purpose’. It is one of many low valleys, but also one of victory. It is a story of hope. A hope that has confounded grief, abuse, pain, loss, abandonment, rejection, depression, suicide, brokenness and failure. A hope that overcomes. A hope that ignites. A hope that endures. A hope that is evidence of a bright future. A hope that has renewed and restored. A hope not deferred. A hope that, in one year alone, took me from surviving to thriving! This is my story of hope.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My road has been as bumpy as downtown Atlanta streets!
As mentioned earlier, I am a survivor of child sex abuse. Being introduced to trauma so early on, I struggled greatly with identity issues, difficulty in trusting people (myself included), focus (making it hard to complete tasks) and lack of passion. It bred inconsistency, unhealthy communication skills, fear of rejection and abandonment, little to no self-awareness, irresponsibility, and irrational decision making.
For many years, I struggled with being integral in business and relationships – crippled by the fear of failing or not being good enough. I felt such a heavy obligation to over perform that I oftentimes overwhelmed myself by taking on more than I could handle or committing myself to things and people that I was not called to.
Honestly, my biggest obstacle was me.
It wasn’t until earlier this year that I owned responsibility in the derailing of many relationships and opportunities that I was able to come to this conclusion; and adjust.
Since then, I have successfully launched my second business Eat Taystee.
Please tell us about Eat Taystee.
Eat Taystee is a food and catering service that specializes in Authentic Mexican and Mexican Fusion cuisines. Our menu consists of traditional Mexican favorites such as Carne Asada tacos, Carnitas and Elotè – but also has some extra dazzle with items like the Taystee original Jerk Shrimp Taco, my special southern fresh-brewed TaysTEA, and my personal favorite the chipolTAY chicken taco. The show-stopping Green Chile Shrimp taco is a customer fave! It is a Hawaiian tortilla, stuffed with grilled shrimp, tossed in green Chile and topped with onions, cilantro, pico de Gallo, and my favorite chipotle drizzle!
What am I most proud of as a company? Well, Because of my commitment to overcome obstacles and be integral in my business practices, Eat Taystee has consistently beat sales goals and will be hosting its’ first major event this November, after less than four months of operation. This milestone, while perhaps minuscule to others, is extremely monumental to me – because it is, again, a glimmer of hope and a reminder that when walking in purpose and Christ-like integrity, nothing is impossible. I am proud that Eat Taystee is a Black Woman Owned, Christian company; with strong Christian values, good morals and is determined to bring good food and culinary experiences to the communities that we service.
I believe that my love for tacos, God and people is what sets us apart from other local businesses. Growing up in Los Angeles, I spent a lot of time visiting local food trucks and making late-night taco runs after hanging with friends. Many friends back home fondly remind me of the random hangouts we’d have at my home where we’d enjoy tacos and good fellowship. When I moved to Atlanta and couldn’t find a taco truck at 2 am on a random Wednesday night and failed to find an authentic street taco anywhere, I knew that I had to do something about it. It has been my desire to add a little bit of ‘home’ to my creations that has set Taystee apart. It’s the culture for me.
*I am also a social media manager and an upcoming author!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Whilst my childhood was full of luxurious vacations and fun activities – my favorite childhood memory by FAR after church fellowships.
There is something about running through the church parking lot with friends, playing double-dutch behind the fellowship hall with extension chords, scuffing the front of my patent leather ‘church shoes’, tearing my tights and sitting around the church benches while eating cheeseburgers and French fries with my friends and cousins that gives me all of the feels!
It is these moments that instilled the importance of community, friendship, family, God and Church in me.
Pricing:
- Contact me via email or Instagram DM for catering inquiries and upcoming event info
Contact Info:
- Website: www.eattaystee.com
- Email: tailormadetreasure@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/taylormadetalks?r=nametag https://instagram.com/eat.taystee?r=nametag
Image Credit:
Peyton Fennell, The Fennell Focus, Eat Taystee , food/graphics
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