Humans of USU: Taylor Darger travels the world in dreams
The Utah Statesman interviewed Taylor Darger, a junior in plant science from Herriman, Utah.
Utah Statesman: You’re watering plants.
Taylor Darger: Yeah, this is my job. I’m the student, like, whatever that is. I work for the teaching greenhouse. It’s just a work study program. This is my first year here but my fourth year in school.
US: Where were you before?
TD: Snow College.
US: What drew you to Utah State?
TD: The plant science program; it’s the best in the west.
US: What do you want to be when you grow up?
TD: I want to be a farmer. I want to do organic agriculture, vegetable production, that kind of stuff.
US: What’s the most extreme thing you’ve ever done?
TD: I was floating down a river in Mexico. It was in August so the river was really muddy and dirty and stuff and we were floating down, and it was going pretty quick. I ended up getting lodged in a tree, and I was basically going to drown. It was pretty interesting.
US: How did that experience change you?
TD: It put things into perspective, and it made me want to do more extreme things and just experience life and get out there more.
US: Did you have a childhood pet?
TD: I don’t remember his name, but it was a frog. Well, a toad I guess, and I had him for a while and he peed everywhere, so he wasn’t the best pet.
US: What is your favorite and least favorite season?
TD: Favorite season is definitely summer just because you can be outside and enjoy everything, and you don’t have to worry about all the extra clothing. Least favorite season is winter because of February.
US: If you could send a secret message to someone on campus without using their name, what would you say?
TD: I would tell them to have faith and keep moving forward.
US: If you could relive one moment in history, what would it be and why?
TD: The colonization of America, just to be able to see the natural environment as it was before Europeans and to see all the plants and animals and all that good stuff.
US: If you could change history, would you?
TD: I guess not right now. I would change the way we’re going to keep in mind future generations and to develop more sustainably and more locally instead of globally.
US: What supernatural ability would you like to have?
TD: Definitely teleportation to be able to see everything in the world before I die and just go anywhere I wanted to.
US: Or you could just live forever?
TD: That’s true, but that would be miserable. I want to die eventually. I think that’ll be fun.
US: Would you ever like to read minds or hear thoughts?
TD: No, I would not. That would be the worst just because I don’t want anybody ever hearing my thoughts. Sometimes they’re pretty crazy. So just keep those to themselves.
US: What are you exceptionally good or bad at?
TD: I’m good at reading and remembering things that I’ve learned. And playing piano, I guess that kind of comes naturally to me. I’m not good at interacting with people. I kind of interact with plants more.
US: Have you ever had a bad first date?
TD: Not yet. They’ve been good.
US: What’s your secret?
TD: Do active things, stay active, go hiking, ride four-wheelers, be outside.
US: Have you ever had a wardrobe malfunction?
TD: Yep. When I was struggling for my life in a tree in Mexico in the river, my shorts slipped off down around my ankles. So I almost died without clothes on.
US: Who saved you in that experience?
TD: It was my cousin. A big, buff guy swam out and rescued me.
US: What was the weirdest dream you had recently?
TD: I have had some pretty crazy dreams. I did have one where I was, I don’t know if you know about them, where you’re awake? Like you know you’re dreaming? So I had that and I was flying over Africa, and I knew I was dreaming, but I was able to fly and see everything over Africa.
US: Do you often dream lucidly?
TD: It does happen a lot to me.
US: Have you gone on a lot of dream adventures?
TD: Yeah, almost always. If I know I’m dreaming, then I’ll go for a fly somewhere. I’ll just soar over wherever I want to see.
US: Where is your favorite place to eat in Logan?
TD: My apartment. I like to cook a lot. I’m vegetarian so I do a lot of my own cooking, and I think I’m a pretty good cook. I am one of the best cooks ever, to me.
US: What’s your specialty?
TD: I like to make hash browns and breakfast burritos, that type of stuff; lots of sauteing. I cook a lot with onions and garlic and pepper and stuff like that.
US: Can you describe your breakfast burrito?
TD: The breakfast burrito has sauteed onion and garlic and bell pepper with cubed hash browns. Then you put some eggs in there, and you put a little sour cream and you drizzle some honey on it inside a tortilla. It tastes really good.
US: Honey?
TD: You have to have the salty and sweet together. It’s necessary.
US: Skim or whole milk?
TD: Raw whole milk. Definitely get it from a local producer if you can. Tastes 100 times better, and I’m not worried about weight or anything right now.
US: You said you like to hike. What’s the coolest hike you’ve been on?
TD: I did the Mount Timpanogos. That was a really cool hike. We went all the way to the very top. We went the back way that crosses the mountain several times. Just an awesome view; it’s beautiful up there.
US: Do you want to open a restaurant?
TD: Yeah, I do. Well, I want my brother to open a restaurant. He’s a chef and I want it to be a little restuarant, nothing big, but just a local thing. I want to grow all the produce and everything.
US: What’s your favorite past time or hobby?
TD: Reading and hiking.
US: What’s your favorite book?
TD: My favorite book by far is “The Book of Mormon,” I just really like that. I like the direction it gives me. I recently read a book called “Restoration Agriculture,” which is just awesome.
US: What is it about?
TD: It’s about using perennial agriculture, so nuts and fruit trees and different things like that all integrated to be able to restore the landscape instead of doing monocropping farming. It’s just a lot more beneficial for the wildlife and the plant species and the pollinators and all that stuff.
US: Tell us about the beard.
TD: My beard is four months old. I grow it out of principle. I think that if you can grow one, you have to grow one, and I definitely encourage everyone who can to grow one. I love it.
US: Is there something you’d like to tell everyone?
TD: Grow plants and respect the environment, because it’s what sustains us. And plants are wonderful anyway.