A Letter to Taylor Swift
When I went through the roughest break up of my life, I turned to you. When I struggled with school, I listened to your music.
I remember when I was just nine years old, I wrote a fan letter to you. I loved and adored your music from the very first song I ever heard, Teardrops on My Guitar.
Over the years, you became not only an inspiration to me musically but also someone I looked up to as a writer, as a woman. I loved the poetry behind your lyrics, the compassion you felt and expressed to everyone you met and even those you didn't.
You received so much criticism no matter what you did, and I can only imagine how difficult that was (and still is, I'm sure) for you. Despite that, though, you still stayed true to yourself, focusing on what mattered most: your growth and progression both as a person and as an artist. You focused on your fans, showing us constant love and appreciation.
I may not watch your every move and I don't have a Tumblr or TikTok account with thousands of followers dedicated to you, but when I went through the roughest break up of my life, I turned to you. When I struggled with school, I listened to your music. The most memorable part of my sixth-grade year was getting the chance to see you in concert in Tampa. The funny thing about that was the fact that I didn't have tickets to the show and was in Tampa for a different reason (one I can hardly remember now).
As someone who has witnessed your growth over the course of your career, I am absolutely astounded by your talent and how it stretches across so many different mediums. From creating music and writing lyrics to having a creative hand in the direction of your music videos and the advertising for your albums and tours, even the intricate and interconnected ways you make connections to every aspect of what you produce.
With every single, every album release, and every tour (even though Speak Now was the only one I've been able to physically attend; come to Orlando!), I am in awe of you. You are arguably the greatest and most talented artist of our generation. Perhaps I'm a bit biased in saying so, but I have not witnessed the same level of nurturing of content from any other artist.
You've managed to defeat all of the negative ideas put out about you, and you've done so with poise and grace. You've remained positive, even through your most trying times, and for that, I commend you. I know if I were in your position, I'd exhibit far less strength than you. Rarely am I ever at a loss for words, but I am having trouble finding words to describe how deeply I love and appreciate the beautiful work you put out into the world, with all of the vulnerability and criticism that comes with doing so. Yet, you do it anyway.
I first wrote this just after midnight on August 23rd, 2019-- the day of Lover's album release. Taylor, though it is unlikely you'll ever read this, I hope you know that I (and millions of others) see what you do and never take it for granted. Your talent is unmatched. Not only do you produce incredible poetic music for the world to apply to so many different personal situations, your kindness and just pure love for others is also remarkable.
I suppose it's selfish of me to say, but I hope that for as long as you live, you never stop sharing with the world. I can't tell you how many times your music has remedied my saddest moments. I can't thank you enough for allowing me to love and listen to your music for most of my life. I don't know a life without Taylor Swift's music, and frankly, I don't ever want to.
Love,
A forever fan and 'Lover' of your music (sorry, I had to).
