I am disappointed in Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris. After a 15 month-long relationship, and a publicly amicable breakup, the two have gone and deleted all evidence of their relationship. The anniversary locket photo? Gone. The beach photos that made you wonder who took them? Erased. (My favorites were the swan float pool party pictures. Also trashed.) Harris went so far as unfollowing Swift on Instagram. Swift went so far as finding herself a new man, and making out with him on a rock. Kudos to that reaction. I am not mad that they broke up, just mad that they would want to forget their relationship all together.
We all know those people. That girl whose Instagram profile doesn't magically start until the beginning of junior year in high school, even though you remember having followed her since freshman year. The boy whom you wouldn't have guessed has been in three relationships in the past year based on his social media. The Taylor Swifts of this world. The Calvin Harris's. They live everywhere, and they are embarrassed of their lives. Wholeheartedly embarrassed. That is what this action, this deletion, implies.
Yes, we all have embarrassing moments that we wish had never happened. We all have people we wish that we had never kissed, middle school bangs we wish that we had never cut, and text languages we wish that we had never used. That doesn't mean those decisions weren't pivotal to our growth as human beings. I firmly believe that every person needs an awkward preteen phase in order to appreciate their adult selves. If we made every correct decision, there would be no way to learn. There would be no self-confidence built while laughing at yourself, no funny stories to share about your exes. Life is boring when you're perfect. Life is hard when you pretend to have been perfect.
The truth is, you cannot delete real memories. Someone will always remember the time you contributed an awful pun to your school's morning announcements. Someone will always remember one of your embarrassing relationships. And, if you're famous like T-Swift, someone will always have a screenshot available, even after you delete the evidence. The truth is, those things happened. Whatever thing you're embarrassed by, it definitely happened. You can't hide from your mistakes or your poor outfit choices or your duck faces. You have to live with them, because you were that person once. At one time in your life, you definitely thought that the duck face was cute. My philosophy is, "No deletes, no regrets." I have done some embarrassing things in my lifetime. I have some awful photos posted on all forms of social media. I said some weird things on Facebook at one time. But I don't regret any of it. Maybe I am ashamed of some of my decisions, but I am proud of the person I am now. I am not embarrassed of who I am now, so I shouldn't be embarrassed of who I was. When I thought I could sing, I loved myself. I still love myself. If I wasn't embarrassed of my wailing -- that I assumed to be talented singing -- why should I be now? Why should you be embarrassed of your old self now?
Taylor Swift, you are known to be proud of your breakup songs. Get that pride back and rock some old relationships on Instagram.