I have been a fan of Taylor Swift since 2006, when I was 13 and still in my awkward middle school days. I have been through the transition from country to pop, from curls to bangs and chopping the locks, and everything else in between. In so many ways, I feel like I've grown up with Taylor Swift and her music. When it felt like nobody else understood, Taylor Swift was there to tell me that she's been through the same thing...and that I'm going to be okay.
"Taylor Swift"
With the crossover of country and pop, Taylor Swift, at the young age of 16, had created an album that would appeal to fans of all sorts of music. "Tim McGraw" reveled about the feeling you get when you have that first great love, the kind that you'll think about when you're 30 and long moved on. The attachment you have to a song and how it can bring back memories of the past has long been sung about, but Taylor made it her own when she hoped that a boy she had once loved would think about her every time "Tim McGraw" came on the radio.
"A Place in This World" is perhaps one of Taylor Swift's most underrated songs. I remember listening to it when I was entering high school and thinking how much I could relate to the words that she so wonderfully crafted. She told me that it's okay to not know what you want, or the impact that you want to make on the world. Making mistakes is okay, and it's a part of growing. Finding your place in the world isn't always easy, but it's going to happen, and you'll know it when you get there.
" Fearless"
"Fearless," released in 2008, is my favorite album. In my opinion, every song speaks directly to your soul. It could have to do with the fact that it was released as I was entering high school and at such a vulnerable time in my life, but songs like "Fearless" and "Fifteen" always have and always will have a valuable impact on who I am as a person. "Fearless" talks about the first kiss, the first love and feeling like you're on top of the world when somebody loves you back. Now that I have somebody who makes me want to dance in my best dress in the rain, and who makes me feel fearless, those words resonate with me more than ever.
"Fifteen" is one of those songs that just makes sense. When you're 15 and a freshman in high school, you're just starting to figure out what the rest of your life could look like. You're still a little naive about love and boys, and there are so many things you wish you could go back and tell yourself now that you've made those mistakes. But without those mistakes, you wouldn't have learned. Back then, you could've sworn that boy in your biology class, who held your hand in the hallway and kissed you in front of his friends, was going to be the one you were with forever. But he wasn't, and that's okay because you realized what really matters and what will be just a lesson learned.
"Speak Now"
Oh, "Speak Now." What an album. I had the privilege of attending the "Speak Now" tour back in 2011 and it was, without a doubt, the best concert experience of my life. Every song felt like a slam dunk in my eyes, especially at a time where I felt like my life was coming together now that college was on the horizon. I remember listening to "Mine" and thinking it fit so perfectly with my life at that current moment.
However, one of the songs that has always resonated with me the most is "Never Grow Up." Looking at a young child being so carefree and innocent, it's hard to not want that back. To not have to worry about your GPA or applying for colleges or graduation and to just run around and be silly. When we're younger, all we want to do is grow up and be an adult. It sounds so appealing: to make our own decisions, move out and do our own thing. It's not until you're in your early 20s and actually at that point in your life when you wish you could have it all back.
"Long Live" is just one of those songs you sing in your bedroom when you're feeling on top of the world. It can apply to so many things: a relationship, a friendship, a part of life or in Taylor's case, her career. When you're busy having the time of your life, you often forget to remember how you're feeling in that moment. You'll have the pictures and the memories, but you'll never get back the exact emotions you were experiencing in that distinct moment. So, long live those experiences. You're going to want to remember them someday.
"Red"
In 2012, I attended the "Red" tour and it, too, was a fantastic experience. The sets, the outfits and stages, gah! Such amazement! "Red" was also the album that brought Taylor Swift fully from country pop to just pop and it was this change that I believe put Taylor on the radar of so many pop music fans. Songs like "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" became the anthem of girls driving with the windows down, cursing their ex-boyfriends with their fists held high.
It's so hard for me to pinpoint any specific songs on that album because they've all meant so much to me as a fan. "22" made me want to dance around my room with my girlfriends (and I must admit, I have at least a few times) and "All Too Well" made me cry real tears because it was so heart-wrenching and raw. "The Lucky One" sung about the issues so many celebrities have with being in Hollywood; the idea that being famous can have its benefits...but at what cost? She reminded us that she is a real person with real emotions, not just a voice and a face to plaster on commercials and advertisements.
"1989"
Taylor Swift's most recent album took the full plunge into pop/alternative/and a little bit of rock with it's fiery anthems such as "Shake it Off" and "Bad Blood." With "1989" came a new era of music from Ms. Swift, a revolution of girl power and fighting for what you believe in. She sang about relationships going sour (and that it's okay!), and how important it is to find yourself when it seems like there's nothing left to find. It also brought in a whole new fanbase of those who had previously criticized Swift for her music and her persona.
Taylor Swift has always been so much more to me than just a singer. She's been an inspiration, a motivator and in a lot of ways, the friend that I've always needed. She understands me when nobody else does and taught us that it's okay to not be okay. She is more than just a girl who "dates around" or blames boys for her relationship problems, as so many have incorrectly labeled her. She's a 26-year-old girl who's learning, living and loving, and who's trying to find her place in the world, just like the rest of us.
