*Here is another fabulous post by my sweet girl Molly.*
Dear Taylor Swift,
I am writing this to you as
an avid Swiftie. My fandom began around the age of 11 with your release of “Tim McGraw”, but this newfound
interest in your music did not become quite as deep until I bought your first
album and heard the first of what would be many favorite T.Swizzle jams, “Stay Beautiful.” I became more of a fan
with the release of your second album (and to every true Swiftie, the best
album) Fearless. Oh my goodness, this one was-in the words of my brother-“straight
fire.” I remember myself and one of my best friends proclaiming “Fifteen” as our freshman year anthem,
and I remember singing, rather jamming to, “Forever
and Always” about a billion times until I no longer had a voice. At this
point in the Swift journey I did not think that you could get any better, and
then…you released your third album, Speak Now. This one was a little different
from the other two, but nonetheless still amazing. Another one of my friends
and I used to sing songs from this album everyday in P.E., at the top of our
lungs, once it was released. We knew every word to every song and the album order
the second day it was out. “Sparks Fly”
was one song that proved you were a lyrical genius, “Enchanted” had every girl fist pumping (especially at the epic
build up that comes after the first verse in the song…yes), and last but not
least, Speak Now contained the very first “Taylor Swift Ballad,” “Dear John,” which no one can actually
sing and sound even remotely pleasant, but that doesn’t mean we don’t all still
try! I also experienced my first concert with Speak Now and it was amazing, as
in no words to truly explain, so I’ll leave it at that. I remember clearly the
day that Red was released. I was a junior in high school, and just happened to
be on a field trip that day. I remember getting on YouTube and searching all
the new songs, listening to as many 30-second samples as I could find, then
tweeting the lyrics…I wish I could say I am ashamed of that, but I’m not. Red
was awesome. This one claims a top spot, just under Fearless, and contains some
of my all-time favorite T.Swizzle jams. Just to name a few: “Treacherous,” the song that is a
perfect lyrical description of each of our lives at one point or another; “WANEGBT,” the song with that one line
that everyone knows the words to; “State
of Grace (Acoustic Version),” a million times yes; “Holy Ground,” because of all of the “oooays” (BGVs are my
favorite); and the second “Taylor Swift Ballad,” “All Too Well,” the ultimate emotional roller coaster song that will
have you needing a nap after one listen. I traveled to Nashville… to see you
perform Red…on the last night of your tour…with my best friends…it was so worth
the drive. Finally, in my first year of college, you released your fifth album,
1989. This was a weird one, but in a good way. I watched the telecast that you
held the day you released “Shake it Off,”
then proceeded to have a dance party with myself. I annoyed my roommate
when you released “Out of the Woods,” because
I could not get over how deep that song was, and played it over and over again.
When the full album was finally released, I listened to it on repeat for weeks
on end, including a entire weekend in Chapel Hill where one night myself and
three of my best friends cranked the stereo in the car to its fullest potential
just to hear “Bad Blood” (and just
FYI, the song was awesome before you asked that one guy to rap for you, just
saying). I do have to say that “All You
Had to Do Was Stay” still remains as one of my favorites from this album,
and it may or may not be because of the weird “STAY” in every chorus. I am
excited to say that I will be seeing you again in concert a few weeks from now,
in Atlanta, and I am sure I won’t be disappointed. To sum up this rather
lengthy first part, I am the ultimate fan. I know every word to every song that
you have ever released, including the bonus songs. I say this ashamedly, but I
also know the order of each song on each album…we’ve all got skeletons in the
closet, okay?! As I transition into the next part of this post, I do so as a
fan who has been there every step of the way, and through every Taylor Swift
phase, so here we go.
I want to first thank you for
not being a Miley Cyrus, or a Lindsey Lohan and for staying rather loyal to who
you are throughout the years. Almost-20-year-old me appreciates that, but 11-year-old
me is a little hurt. I tried not to listen to the critics, or rather, people
much wiser than me, when they said things about this last album. They’re just
songs, right? It’s Taylor Swift!!! I said that, I believed that, and I refused
to move off of any obligation I held to being one of your biggest fans.
Naturally, I ignored mostly all of the negative because I did not want to believe
that it could be true. Yeah, okay, you are not swinging (naked) on a huge ball
and chain while licking a sledgehammer, or leaving rehab for the billionth
time, and you definitely have not boasted about kissing another girl…and liking
it. But, I had to face reality when the music video to “Wildest Dreams” came
out. Girl, you insinuate a few risqué things in this song, and they are
portrayed, briefly, in the video. Do not get me wrong, as much as I hate to
admit it, the song is super catchy. However, when I ride in the car with my
11-year-old sister, another avid Swifite, and we listen to this album, I find
myself always skipping over this song. I hate that. I hate that while it is
only one song, it is still on the album, and is still talking about something
that Taylor Swift would never talk about, or at least the Fearless-phase Taylor
Swift. Why am I so hurt by this? I mean, it isn’t a big deal, right? But then I
go back to sweet 6th grade Emma and it becomes a huge deal. Here I
am feeling like you are dancing on the edge of what sells, and what is true to
you, that makes me sad.
So, I write this in love, and
I write this still remaining one of your biggest fans. I also write this in no
way shaming you, or banning your music, or not still promising to jam to each
song that you have released and will release in the future. I guess what I am
trying to say is that I hope you remember your curly-headed phase, and I hope
you remember all the little girls who have grown into bigger girls and have remained
faithful Swifties through it all. Don’t forget where it all started, before you
had to appeal to a fallen world, and a warped image of what society says is the
“norm.” My 11-year-old self thanks you for the image you have portrayed as I
have grown up, and my almost 20-year-old self asks you to remember it-
“stay, stay, stay. I’ve been
loving you for quite some time, time, time…”
Love,
Molly
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