“But if the story is over, why am I still writing pages,” Taylor Swift sings in her song “Death by a Thousand Cuts.”
As a writer, I am blown away by Taylor Swift’s ability to storytell and express emotions. Some of her lyrics do such a good job depicting my feelings, I couldn’t say them better myself. There is no better feeling than strolling past Mad Bowl, hearing a lyric and resonating with it so well that it stops you in your tracks.
As a 2004 baby, I cannot remember a time in my life that I do not associate with one of Taylor Swift’s eras. From age 2 to 20, each of Taylor’s albums marks different periods of my life, with her earlier ones helping me to discover my personality and the later ones providing comfort in chaos and change. I’ve watched diligently as she enters and exits different chapters of her own life, and in some ways, I know that she’s a source of wisdom that I use to guide my own.
Even if you don’t consider yourself to be a Swiftie, as you navigate through the obstacles of life as a college student, chances are that you too, could benefit from blasting a little Taylor into your airpods on the way to the library.
So, let’s get into Taylor’s pretty pivotal role in shaping who I’ve turned out to be — starting with her debut album, Taylor Swift. One day, as I was carpooling to Kindergarten with a neighbor, one of Taylor’s songs started playing on the radio. My carpool buddy started singing along, and I embarrassingly mouthed “watermelon” over and over, pretending to know the lyrics. However, pretty soon those “watermelons” turned into singing my heart out word-for-word.
These early country tunes inspired a feeling of ease and girlhood with my friends. We sang songs like “Picture to Burn” and “Teardrops On My Guitar” at our first slumber parties on the CD I made my mom burn, pretending to relate to cheating boyfriends and teenage revenge. “Taylor Swift” represented a time when life was simple, and I loved it.
I really became a Swiftie after discovering “Fearless” and “Speak Now,” and both of these albums defined my elementary and early middle school years. I downloaded every song from these two albums on my turquoise iPod Shuffle, and each time a music video was released, my friends and I would sit around one of our parents’ laptops and stare in awe of the musical story.
Beyond creating memories, these songs also really developed pieces of my personality. Her tunes and just overall persona inspired a lot of passions for me. I learned how to play the intro to “Love Story” on the guitar — though not very well — refused to let my parents cut my hair so it would grow out long like Taylor’s, and attempted to write my own catchy songs. Although my guitar stint was short-lived, I can still attribute part of my love for writing and fashion to Taylor.
In 2017, Reputation threw me for a loop, and this is when my loyalty to Taylor was put to the test. I remember the exact moment I first listened to the album while I waited for my mom at the doctor’s office, and I will not lie — I was pretty freaked out. These intense songs really had me worried about the girl I had grown up to love so much. I grew distant from Taylor.
There would come a time later on where Reputation and I could reconnect, but in the meantime, I held out until the Lover album came along. Lover takes me right back to my senior year of high school, filled with gratitude as I experienced all the bittersweet lasts with my best friends. I truly did “love” a lot of things about this time, so the timing of Lover’s release was very fitting for me, as the upbeat lyrics and melodies mirrored the happiness that accompanied this point of my life.
Similar to Reputation, I had a delayed connection with Evermore, but this was interestingly remedied when I came to college. With songs like “it’s time to go,” “ivy” and “happiness,” this album symbolizes transition. Prior to coming to college, I had just completed what was expected of me — playing sports, getting good grades, applying to colleges, and spending time with my family. As soon as my parents dropped me off for my first year, however, it hit me that I had reached a point in my life where I had the agency to make my own decisions.
I felt that I needed to define who “Malone” truly was, separate from the identity that high school laid out for me so simply. When trying to discover myself in this completely new place, I delved into the tracks of Evermore, using the multifaceted lyrics to find meaning amongst all the confusion of college.
Most recently, I have found myself drawn to “The Tortured Poets Department” after studying abroad in Valencia last summer. The poetic journey of TTPD is a mixture of all her other albums – it's bold, poppy, sad at moments, folky and poetic. In Valencia, I felt that I had entered a new era of life, one full of individuality and purpose, yet I was somewhat grieving the comfortable, familiar one I had left behind. In this album, Taylor sings about moving through the five stages of grief through groundbreaking lyrics. As a listener, I could hear the healing Taylor was experiencing, and her vulnerability inspired me. Long story short — no pun intended — TTPD is legendary.
Right now, I believe that I am in my “Folklore” era. Many of the songs in the album, including “Mirrorball” and “Peace” are reflective, and as I have been looking back on my teenage years, I recognize a ton of growth and change that I am now carrying into my 20s. These slower, refreshing songs perfectly articulate how it feels to enter a new chapter of life.
Growing up and growing into myself, I am filled with appreciation for Taylor Swift — admiring how well she knows herself, how she expresses her emotions and how she connects so deeply with her audience. Today, her music reminds me to stay strong in my convictions and that it is okay to feel all the feelings that come with growing up, leaving things behind and entering new phases. I cannot wait to see what she has to offer me in this next era.
Thanks, Taylor!
Read More
Hindu Students Council brightens Grounds with Holi, ‘Festival of Colors’
By Mia Tan | 20 hours agoFrom pouring color over someone’s head to smudging powder across someone’s cheek, the act of coloring others during Holi is often a form of affection.
The University’s first sex columnist on the complexities of speaking out
By Madigan Wirkus | YesterdayZimmerman’s story is a gentle reminder of both the progress and barriers that still persist.
Crowd gathers at Mad Bowl for the University’s ‘Ginger Run’
By Dana Douglas | YesterdayDuring the University’s Ginger Run, participants line up on the side of Mad Bowl opposite the Rotunda before sprinting across to the other end of the three-acre field.
