Let's get one thing straight: regardless of whether or not you like her, Taylor Swift has changed your life. If you're a boy, it's because your sister/girlfriend/young aunt/female cousin has, at one point, listened to her and been moved to excitement, if not tears. If you're a girl, it's because you have either always wanted to be Taylor Swift or because you hate that no one seems to be able to stop talking about her. 

There was a point in my life when every single song on her albums made me just sit for a moment and think about how she had so cleverly taken every single indescribable feeling, no matter how ephemeral or nonsensical, out of my body and turned it into catchy, lyrical genius. 

Here's a play by play of my love affair with what can only be described as a Taylor/Earth therapy session:

Taylor Swift, 2006
Most played: "Our Song" (of course)
Current favorite: "Tim McGraw"

The fact that this album came out in 2006 means that I was 12 years old and fresh off my first wave of weird, hormonal angst when this came out. I'd like to begin by saying that the first time I saw the cover of Taylor Swift, I genuinely thought that Tay-bae was the most beautiful girl on the planet. I was also really excited that she had hair that was almost as big as mine. 

"Tim McGraw" reminded me (and still does) of all the summer camp dances I used to get so excited about. Listening to this album takes nostalgia to a whole new level and transports me straight back to feeling like awkward, bumbling, early-teenage me. I'm 100 percent ok with that because, just like Taylor Swift, it somehow makes me wish that I were that young little weirdo again, doing everything for the first time.  

(I'd like to end this little spiel with the information that "Picture to Burn" was the first song of hers that I ever bought and it now reminds me of all the times I moodily listened to it in the front seat of my mom's car (before iPods played music on speaker), trying to convince everyone to just leave me to my secret jams.)

Fearless, 2008
Most played: "You Belong with Me"
Current favorite: "The Best Day"

I'll be very honest here: a lot of what made "You Belong with Me" special for me was the music video (hello Lucas Till) and this gem of a remix (which was also embarrassingly relevant; did you remember that Twilight came out in 2008? I didn't either.). 

This was another one of those "HOW does she know all my feelings?!" albums for her. Even though half of the album was comprised of break-up songs, TSwizz somehow had this way of taking every confusing thought and annoying feeling straight out of my head and turning it into commercial gold. In one fell swoop, she validated every mean/mushy/weird thought I had ever had about boys and made me feel fine about all those nerves I had about myself entering high school. (Thanks, Taylor.)

Speak Now, 2010
Most played: "Back to December"
Current favorite: "Enchanted"

Maybe I'm alone here, but "Back to December" was one of my favorites not only because it reminded me that admitting you are wrong can (sometimes) be the right choice, but also because it conjured this great (weird) little story in my head of two adorable Taylor's in some adorable little relationship. (Note: It also made me sad that I wasn't in a relationship with/friends with/known to either of them, but that's fairly beside the point.)

And who doesn't like "Enchanted"? That song literally (figuratively) spouts the sparkles and sunshine (happiness mixed with nerves) that remind girls (including me) of the nights that they came home and couldn't have stopped smiling to save their lives. If you don't turn into an emotional puddle every time that girl sings anther verse, don't tell me who you are.

Red, 2012
Most played: "22"
Current favorite: "All Too Well"

Red is an album that really took some warming up to for me. Even after the first couple of listens, I felt okay with skipping a fair number of the slower songs on that album. What changed my mind were the live performances, especially Tay's Grammy performance of "All Too Well." That one made me unduly emotional, and then I was suddenly "that girl defending Taylor Swift on family road trips" again. 

This album was also great for bonding over our nails/large-scale dance parties/boy-bashing/general freak outs and happiness as a freshman in college. It's not really a surprise that "22," "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," and "I Knew You Were Trouble" were basically the soundtracks to some of the best nights I had all year.  

1989, 2014
Most played: "Shake It Off"
Current favorite: "Blank Space/Style"

After listening to this album all the way through for the first time, I went back and listened to "Taylor Swift" in order to write this article. The differences between the two albums, though stark and fairly disconcerting to a nostalgic version of me, don't even matter. The lyrics are still there. The crazy-catchy melodies are still there. She's still there. Even though the only things she shares with the girl who wrote that first album may be her name and her drive, she's still given me chest pains with her scary-accurate lyrics. 

As I write this, she's also doing promo via tumblr and Instagram, which really just makes me want to be her friend/baking buddy. Like, a lot. Is it too much to ask that she invite me to those parties she throws to celebrate the Fourth of July/the first day of fall/her cat Meredith's birthday? I don't really think it is. 

Taylor Swift (still) knows how to connect with strangers, and it will almost certainly be the downfall of my GPA this semester. 

Thanks a bunch, Swift.