KERSHA TAITANO

Creator and Curator of thevividvida

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TVV : Tell us a little bit about yourself

Hi everybody! My name is Kersha Taitano, but I go by kershaelysse on all social platforms. I'm a 20 yr old from the island of Guam, but I'm in Seattle, Washington for college. When I'm not getting involved in extra-curriculars or hanging out with friends, I'm either binging my favorite Youtubers, trying new recipes, napping or trying to be creative or active! - Kersha

TVV : What will you be sharing about today?

Today I'll be sharing my story and why I started thevividvida. - Kersha

TVV : Ooh! So exciting. Let's hear it!

When I was in 4th grade, I read the book "The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes: Every Cloud has a Silver Lining". The story was about a girl, Abby Hayes, who had a purple notebook where she journaled about her adventures at school and at home. I thought it was the coolest idea ever. I saved $3 to buy a notebook at my school's student store so I could journal in my purple notebook too. From fourth to eleventh grade, I then journaled everything and everyday. It was my way to let out my emotions; a place to share my deepest secrets and go on and on about my wildest dreams. If I had a crush on a boy - it was in the journal. 6th grade drama about getting bullied and crying before 7th period math? It was in the journal. Gossip about who dated who? In.the.journal.

My journal collection - and messy room in the background

Fast forward to high school and my collection of journals had grown into a collection of 26 notebooks filled with my daily thoughts. Around 10th grade, constantly journaling became more difficult as I found myself more on my laptop and cellphone (curse you social media!!) - but thankfully I read another book that inspired me: Girl Online by Zoe Sugg. The famous YouTube influencer (and a possible ghost writer - although we will not dabble in that drama) wrote a story about a girl that started an anonymous blog. I was then inspired and started a simple blog called "thevividvida".

While it was fun at first, I quickly stopped the blog because my content was not genuine. I started to only write about my frustrations and insecurities. I had picked "thevividvida" as my blog title because I wanted to share a message - one that told others "she lives a fun and colorful life". To anybody on the outside, I was a social butterfly, an involved student leader and a dancer. But deep down, I was an insecure and overcommitted high schooler with no regard for self care and catering to what I truly wanted. As I wrote my blog, I noticed that my posts reflected the inner me and I was worried it was too much to share - with the internet .. and with anybody in general. I figured if I could delete my negative posts about my feelings, stress and sad experiences from the internet and my blog that it would go away in real life as well.

I also wrote about the things in my life that frustrated me. Drinking, partying, friends back stabbing each other, feeling left out and feeling like I was a total outsider ... it was all on the blog. Of course, since it was anonymous I left names out but all the stories and emotions were there. I didn't have a lot of followers - and I never really cared to check who was reading my words. At the end of the day, I let out all my anger into a blog that turned into a space filled with my rants! It was horrible.

I took a break from the blog and stopped journaling completely. High school ended, and - as college slowly creeped into my life - a lot of new experiences took place. I hit a high point towards the end of high school. I had a great boyfriend, friends, exciting plans for college and curiosity that brought me to a new city. But with all that is great, there is always some bad to balance it out (I'm a Libra and we loveeeeee a balanced life) My first year of college was a rollercoaster emotionally. For the first time ever, my big mouth got me into some big drama. Slowly after, I felt less sure of who I was and who my real friends were. My self confidence levels went down and I was lost. Thankfully, with my boyfriend and a select few of really trust worthy friends, I've gotten back up from that low.

With these experiences, I was inspired again to revive thevividvida - but in a new way (All of which, you can find in the About page on this site!) I was inspired by all the positives and negatives in my life to create a platform for people to share their stories and experiences. As somebody who occasionally found herself feeling really down and insecure due to social media and really just life in general - LOL- I wanted to create a place on the internet that people could look towards that celebrated differences, unique qualities and radiated positive energy. I wanted to create a space that I felt would have helped me when I was in my all time low. - Kersha

TVV : Would you say then that this was your way of letting everything out?

Like I said above, I would find myself feeling down and insecure when going on social media. This was my solution to stopping the constant down trips and low feelings - harnessing my energy into something creative. It takes some extra energy for me to step out of bed, put down the ice-cream and do something creative but when I do - I always feel better. This could either be drawing, dancing or coming up with projects like this! - Kersha

TVV : How have you grown in this/how do you plan to grow in this?

For the project, I just hope thevividvida grows and connects well with others. For me personally, I hope that I get better at not caring what others think or say about me and just focus on doing things that genuinely make me happy. It's hard for me to admit, but a lot of the things I've done in the past weren't for my own pleasure. During my lowest point, I realized that a lot of the activities or things I did (or didn't do) were to please others or fill something I thought I needed - like my college application. - Kersha

TVV : What's one of your go to resources when you're looking for inspiration?

Self help books - but the cool kind! Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso is a definite favorite and next on my reading list is Work Party by Jaclyn Johnson. - Kersha

TVV : What goals do you have for thevivivdvida in terms of this "project"?

In the future, I would love to creatively collaborate with different individuals and really expand the network we're slowly building. I dont know - so far the feedback has been great and I just can't wait to see what happens! - Kersha

TVV : It's been great hearing your story. Quickly before you go - share a FUN FACT:

I am 100% a hopeless romantic and love everything about love - movies, songs, books, WEDDINGS and cute dates ... it's all up my speed and one day, I'd love to be a wedding planner. - Kersha