When I think Taylor Swift, a myriad of images and sounds cross through my mind. I think of cowgirl boots, butterflies, Love Stories, polaroids, dancing in the rain, late nights, and exploring England’s Lakes. I think of growing up, of feeling alone in the pursuit of building a fulfilling life, falling in love too easily followed by remembering it All Too Well, partying like it’s 1989, and hoping for love as golden as Daylight.
Whenever someone asks me why I love Taylor Swift so much, it’s hard for me to offer a response. While I weave her song lyrics into my Instagram captions and somehow include something about her in nearly every conversation, no matter who I’m with or what we’re talking about, the question is difficult to answer because there isn’t one clear cut reason; rather I love her for the ways in which her music has been there for me in different stages of my life, almost as if we’d grown up alongside each other.
Taylor’s music is a mosaic of different shining, glittering pieces of glass, pieces of searching for an all encompassing love like the kind in classic romances, envisioning having friends who no longer make her feel like she’s on The Outside looking in, daydreaming about crashing a wedding in an effort to Speak her truth, sitting with her pain, dancing the night away, capturing every joyful moment on a polaroid, shining brightly like a mirrorball, broken but put back together, and realizing that despite her past she’s still bejeweled.
She’s a testament to growth, to realizing that mistakes don’t make you damaged, they make you clean, you are not your reputation, you are your character, and if after a matter of time you don’t recognize yourself, that means you did it right. She’s taught me that love is not always burning Red, but it’s okay to sit with the reminiscence of what was and could’ve been. She’s taught me that even when reality doesn’t match your daydreams, it’s okay to let someone know to Stay Beautiful. At the same time she’s taught me to turn the page when it’s time for the next chapter.
Taylor has taught me that life is a treasure box of growing up, believing in fairytales even when they don’t come true, fantasizing, grieving, partying, finding love in haunted places, stepping into the daylight, knowing other people’s stories, writing your own, and making the most of what you know, what you have, and what you love.
Sometimes it’s less about what she’s taught me though. Sometimes it’s simply knowing that someone else has been lost in the Labyrinth of their mind, has been The Archer and the prey, and has searched for A Place In This World.
Her songwriting from the ten albums she’s put out so far, along with the evident progression of her talent and persona, offer the warmth that even when it feels like the rest of the world is telling me You’re On Your Own, Kid Taylor is there to say you always have been.
Her work inspires me to experiment creatively, encourages me to take risks, and even if I fail I’ll come back stronger than a 90s trend. Taylor is an example of living a life rooted in pursuing what tugs on your heart, playing by your own rules, yet staying close to those who matter, humbly lifting others up, and seeking guidance from those you admire.
I hope that whether or not you gravitate as strongly towards her music as I do, there’s something in Taylor Swift’s writing that reminds you that life, in all its messiness, heartache, and failures, ultimately shines brighter than daylight when you decide to do what you love, when you spread love to others, when you take every lesson as an opportunity to grow, and when you’re Fearless enough to create the kind of life that you love.
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