The Story of Us

Queen Swift Herself

Everyone knows who Taylor Swift is, but not everybody knows about anything besides her music. If you have listened to more than just her radio hits, you're ahead of most of the population. In the last year, I have fallen in love with Taylor Swift, and learned a ton about her in the process. Here's a little bit about her, as well as the story of how I got to know Taylor.

My Roommate's guitar

Last year, I had a roommate that was obsessed with Taylor Swift, I'm talking lifelong fan. She had been inspired to learn piano and guitar, as well as write her own music. When the "Miss Americana" documentary came out on Netflix, she was so excited. I wanted to see what the hype was about, so I watched it too. The biggest thing that struck me was how normal she seemed, even as one of the most famous celebrities in the world. Even though she has more money and fame than I could ever imagine, she still manages to appear down-to-earth. She sits at home with her cats eating snacks and watching TV, just like the rest of us.

I hadn't listened to much of her country music, but as I got to know her I felt obligated to learn more of her songs, and now "Our Song" and "Picture to Burn" are some of my favorite songs. I learned about her process in writing songs, and it was really cool to see clips of her singing songs that I recognized before they were fully realized. She works with so many different people, but has always done the majority of her songwriting herself. Her talent affects so many people in so many ways.

Taylor's Instagram post on October 7th, the night of the VP debates

Outside of her music, Taylor Swift has made a huge impact culturally and politically. By taking a firm stand for women's and LGBTQ+ rights in recent years, as well as endorsing several Democratic candidates, she has made her opinions well known. This was divisive in many circles, but made her even more human in my eyes. Not to mention, encouraging young people to register to vote in 2018 sparked the biggest surge in registrations on Vote.org after National Voter Registration Day. She wasn't afraid to have opinions or emotions and uses her platform to do what she thinks is best.

I knew I listened to her a lot, but not this much!

Since she surprise-dropped her folklore album this summer, I have only gotten to know her more (according to Spotify, a LOT more). That album was one of the most recent projects in a busy few years for her, which intersects perfectly with my 'discovery' of her. Three albums in three years, as well as movies, music videos, merch, and more has kept me and the rest of her fans busy. I'm glad that Taylor and I have been able to get better acquainted this year, and I hope that you learn to love her as much as I do!