I can still remember the first time I heard a Taylor Swift song. I was in the sixth grade, at my friend's house for .a sleepover. My friend introduced Taylor Swift to me as I listened to her Fearless album and stared at the curly haired girl on my friend's bedroom walls. That night, my friends and I sang karaoke to After both of my parents got me the Fearless album, I was obsessed with her innocent country love charm and in that moment, I knew I would forever be a "swifty". From album to album, I grew up, each album holding pieces of my childhood and adolescence.
As new fans begin to listen to the "new Taylor" and her newest album, I will reflect on the times that Taylor helped me grow.
1. Taylor Swift
5th grade little Lindsay. A time where I had no idea who Taylor Swift even was. I was just discovering her with my friends. Insert "Tim McGraw" and "Picture to Burn", all time karaoke classics to jam out to.
2. Fearless
6th grade Lindsay is just getting into the swing of the new middle school. New teachers, new environments, and new friends. I was scared beyond belief. Taylor made everything okay. "Fifteen" was my anthem during my junior high years.
3. Fearless Tour 2009
I can still remember my first ever Taylor Swift concert. I can remember the dramatic scene changes and hair flips. The finale was the best part. The finale went something a little like this:
4. Speak Now
Snow. Colder weather. I was still in junior high at the time. I spent days locked in my room, jamming to "Better than Revenge", "Story of Us", and "Enchanted", because I was sad my crush moved on to another girl.
5. Red
Forever fall. This is one of my all time favorite albums. "We Are Never Getting Back Together" is a song that my mom and I would sing every time my junior high boyfriend broke up with me. "All to Well" is a song I like to listen to in my room. "The Last Time" is a song I listen to alone in my car. I still like to revisit this album and think of all the songs that helped me with my heartbreaks.
6. 1989
Meet Sophomore-Junior-Senior Year Lindsay. I was done with high school. People were constantly messing with me. I lost friends, I was being bullied and I was experiencing my first heartbreak. I was so done with people. I wanted out. I dreamt of moving to New York, as I read my novels in study hall and listened to "Welcome to New York". To help keep my sane, I blasted "Bad Blood" and "Clean" and "Out of the Woods" in my car on long drives home. Taylor helped keep me sane. There was nothing I wanted more than to walk across the stage and just graduate already.
7. Reputation
College. "Gorgeous" is a song that I will totally jam out to and I can relate to it as well. "Look What You Made Me Do" is a song that I jam out to with my friends before a girls night out or football game. I can't wait to see what the rest of the album will hold.
So Taylor, if you're reading this, just know that I will forever be a fan because of the kind of person you are. You stay relevant because you are relatable. Just know that I will always be a fan of your work.
Every album holds a memory that I continue to treasure and revisit every time I listen to a song off of it. I have had bad moments in my life, but I have also had really good ones. The bad times are what leads me to the good times.
Despite the pain and wreck less emotions I was going through at the time, I love to look back and see what all I have learned in this crazy life. You have taught me that it's okay to be yourself. I have realized that I don't have to impress anyone, I just have to love myself and appreciate everything that I have been through.
Thank you for your music and for being you, whether you are the "new" Taylor Swift or not.
