Dear Taylor,

It’s been a while since I’ve heard from you -- almost eight full years since I met the 16-year-old girl with a sparkly headband and cowboy boots somewhere in Manhattan. A lot has changed in my life these past eight years: I no longer have braces, I graduated high school, I moved across the country. I think a lot more has happened to you, though. These eight years have been pretty crazy for you and me both, but despite the time difference, I still have a lot to thank you for. If we’re being honest, I have everything to thank you for.

Thank you for my best friends. When my best friend and I met you in New York City, she was crying so hard you spelled her name wrong on the autograph. It's still one of the best memories I have ever had. My other best friend and I met through your online fan club, Taylor Connect. To make it even better, my roommate and I just finished an entire music video in our pajamas to "All You Had To Do Was Stay" (and we are not ashamed).

Thank you for teaching me to love myself. When I met you, I was a chubby 10-year-old who didn’t quite believe in myself, but you proved me otherwise by signing the words, “Emily is beautiful,” before your own name. I know now that the “beauty” you thought of me may have not been only skin deep, but much, much further than that.

Thank you for your advice on boys. Maybe this is self-explanatory considering the five whole albums worth of lyrics, but I needed to include it. No matter where I am in the midst of my love life -- in the middle of a date or in the middle of my floor eating ice cream -- you always know how to say just what I’m feeling. Even if what I’m feeling is three songs all at once, which is usually the case.

Thank you for teaching me to always be kind. Not a day goes by where I do not repeat the quote, “No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.” You’ve taught me that being “good” involves all things I strive for: authenticity, sincerity, generosity, and more.

Thank you for your laughs. A bad day most definitely calls for watching home videos with Abigail (the cat named Trevor and Sinead O’Connor), interviews (your 16-year-old self was pretty sassy, I might add), video blogs and more. You have shown me just how important it is to laugh at myself and I am so grateful for that trait.

Thank you for showing me my passions. The first song I learned to play on guitar was "Fearless," followed by "Mary’s Song," and so on. I could easily thank you for utilizing similar chords between pieces, but I thank you more for inspiring me to teach myself three whole instruments that I now know inside and out. And on top of that, thank you for the songbooks I look back on as my middle school journals (those songs will never get old).

Thank you for being you. You’re connected in every part of who I am and I can’t imagine it any other way. You’ve been a constant for me when friendships have failed, boys have broken my heart, I’ve moved across the country, and as I’ve grown up. None of this would have happened if you were anything different than yourself, and I am forever grateful for the way your life (and ultimately, my life) turned out.

Sometimes I listen to the song "Tim McGraw" and remember playing the piano in the sixth grade, and other times I think of "Shake It Off" and remember driving with the windows down just last summer. But whatever the song, whatever the time, you are always there. Thank you, Taylor, for everything you have done for me, and more. I would not be the same person I am without you and I certainly hope you would not be the same person you are without me… or the millions of fans right behind you.

All the love (and cats and baking and glitter and all things you love) in the world,

Emily