Introduction

During my freshman year at WashU, I had someone ask to see my Spotify Wrapped. While looking through it, all she said to me was, “You only listen to Taylor Swift! We need to introduce you to some good music”. Now, I argue that Taylor Swift is a true artist. As an English major, I value lyrics over anything else so I listen to a variety of music, even rock and roll (check out one of my early blog posts for more about my love of rock music!). From her uncanny ability to create deeply emotional metaphors to her rich vocabulary skills, Swift is a true master of words. While it might sound kind of strange, she is one of my writing inspirations because I want to develop and sharpen my skills the way she has throughout her time as a songwriter. Within her lyrics, there is a plethora of lessons that are ripe for the taking. Today, I want to share with you (some of) the lessons I have learned from Taylor Swift and her music. Because she has eleven albums and I did not want to make this blog post unbearably long, I decided to divide this blog into two separate posts. In today’s blog post, I am going to cover her albums before her disappearance from the public eye, which ended with 1989. In the next blog post, I will talk about her albums after she came back into the spotlight, starting with her album Reputation. 

P.S. If you want an extra challenge with this duology, I want you to try to figure out which album is my favorite! I’ll reveal the answer in part two! 

Debut: “You should’ve said no, baby, and you might still have me”

My motto for 2024 is “say yes more!”. I set this as my motto for the year because I wanted to expand my horizons. I want to try new things. I wanted to make new friends. I wanted to have the best study abroad experience possible. I have learned so many lessons from saying yes to almost everything I could in 2024. The most unexpected lesson was the power of saying no. “Yes” and “no” are two of the most powerful words in any language because just saying one of those words can change your life completely. We tend to focus on the power of yes. If my Italian ancestors did not say yes to moving, I would not have all the opportunities I have now as an American citizen. If my mom didn’t say yes to a coworker asking her out, I would not have been born. If I had not said yes to taking a year-long Shakespeare course during my first year at WashU, I would not be interested in writing an honor’s thesis about Shakespeare. We tend to forget the influence that the word “no” can have in our lives. In fact, “no” can be more powerful than “yes” because it leads to inaction. Inaction does not necessarily need to be a bad thing. Saying no can protect you. It helps you maintain peace in your life by not committing yourself to too many opportunities. However, it does not always mean a lack of action; it can be so much more than that. It can protect yourself from unhealthy or unworthy relationships. It can be a sign of your self-discipline and your self-love. It can be a reflection of your ability to stay true to your core values and beliefs. It can be you setting boundaries. It can send you in a new direction in life by helping you move on to bigger and better things. Reflecting back, saying” no” has led me to so many new places in life, just as many as saying “yes”. “No” should not always have a negative connotation. It should be celebrated just as much as “yes”. Saying “no” empowers us to say “yes” with integrity. 

Fearless: “But I’ve found time can heal most anything / And you might just find who your supposed to be”

I have talked about pain in another blog post before. That post was about the importance of putting meaning behind your pain and accepting your pain as a part of who you are today. I naturally gravitate towards writing about pain because it is something constant, which makes it part of the human experience. Because pain is inescapable, we need to learn how to accept and overcome it. It is a difficult thing to do, but I think Swift gives us some help in “Fifteen”. Sometimes the only way to deal with pain is to move through it. We don’t fight it. We don’t ignore it. We just simply feel it; we give it time. When people talk about “giving it time”, there is this passive connotation to the word. However, just because we are giving our pain time does not mean that is all we do. Pain is a literal signal from our brains that something is not right. So, we have to make it right. This looks different for everyone. Maybe this is talking to a loved one or a trusted therapist. Maybe this is journaling. Maybe this is reinvesting into yourself and your relationship with yourself (check out a past blog post if you want more information on how to do this!). This is not a time for passivity. It is a time for action. It is about putting in the work so that time can do what it is supposed to do. Once time has done its job, this is where the second half of the lyric comes into play. To me, this lyric is about understanding the positives that can come out of negative events and negative emotions. Some of my most painful experiences have shaped me into the person I am today. All of the heartbreak from failed relationships has led me to stronger connections. All of the rejections from opportunities have led me to work harder for better opportunities. All of the mistakes have led to life lessons that have strengthened my values. Our pain reveals to us who we are supposed to be. If we learn how to accept it and overcome it, pain can lead us to the highest versions of ourselves. 

Speak Now: “You need to hear me out / And they said speak now”

I was once asked by someone if I was “a political person”. Now, I honestly have no idea what that means, but I think that this person was actually asking me a different question. They were asking me if I was involved in politics. I have been heavily involved in politics for the majority of my life. My dad would constantly play NPR in the car while driving us to school, and he would always answer any questions I had about what I heard. In eighth grade, I wrote an article in my school’s newspaper about the importance of voting. I have hosted and led meetings with people in Congress since I was fifteen years old; my grandmother’s favorite story about me is the one where I held a US Senator hostage for twenty minutes to talk about the changes I wanted to see in the government. Earlier this year, I called someone out for talking about politics without being able to provide a reliable source for their claims. Since I have never been one to be silent about my beliefs and since my blog is an extension of who I am, it is only right that I (briefly) chat about my opinions. I know that a lot of us are disheartened by the results of the presidential election this year. The day after the election, I went to M.L. Rio’s author event in London (you can learn more about that author event in a past blog post). She was asked about the results of the presidential election, and she said something that will stick with me for the rest of my life: “You can take some time to process what has happened, but then it is time for action”. Despair makes us want to stop and disengage from what makes us sad. Our brains are literally designed to do that. It is believed by some psychologists that depression came from an evolutionary advantage because it kept you alive. Right now, depression and despair will not stop the world from turning and from new governments taking power. The only thing that we can do is take action. It will be hard and slow and grueling. However, if it was easy, everyone would do it. Swift has been very vocal about her own political beliefs, and it takes courage to be brave enough to do that. We will all need some courage in the coming four years. I don’t know about you, but I will not stand idly by. I will speak now. 

Red: “That nothing safe is worth the drive”

Much like pain, fear is something that we live with every single day. Believe me, I know. If I leave my mind to wander too much, I become a very anxious person. It was especially bad when I was younger. During parent-teacher conferences, my teachers would always tell my parents that they were putting too much pressure on me to maintain my good grades. The funny thing is that my parents were not the ones pressuring me; I was pressuring myself. My mind was aswirl with what if… what if… what if… These “what if” questions are as old as humanity because our brains were programmed to sense fear, even perceived fear. I argue that we can utilize this ability to create a better version of ourselves. Sometimes what scares us is what will help us grow the most. For example, I recently applied for a fellowship. It is a fellowship where I form an intimate relationship with a Holocaust survivor and then create a creative project around it. I learned that I was the only non-Jewish person who applied and was accepted to the program. I had to make a hard decision about whether or not I would accept the spot offered to me. One of the biggest things stopping me was my fear. While chatting with my dad about this opportunity, he encouraged me to take stock of what was important to me and why. I realized that my personal development is a value that hold very dearly and that this opportunity would push me in new ways. I also knew that if I did not accept this opportunity now, I might not have the chance to in the future because there won’t be any living Holocaust survivors left. I cannot yet attest to the ways that this program will change me. I will hopefully write a blog post about my experience because I foresee it changing my life for the better. So, I don’t think that we should be constantly trying to move away from fear. The only people who are not afraid are the dead; because someone who is not afraid is not living. 

1989: “I’m dancin’ on my own”

I have always loved love stories. Romance novels are my favorite books to read. I enjoy hearing how couples meet each other and fall in love. I obviously listen to a lot of love songs as a Taylor Swift fan. While I have been a lover of romance my entire life, I have never seriously dated anyone. I think that there can be a lot of pressure, especially for young women, to date someone. I always joke that I have very high standards, although it is a joke that rings true. I would rather be single than date someone who does not love me the way they should; I’ve been raised better than that. My parents have taught me what love should look like and what it feels like. They have taught me that someone who loves you does not just do the bare minimum. Love is a verb in action. I hate that being single can sometimes have this negative connotation attached to it. There is this idea that single people are lonely. I might be alone in the sense that I do not have a romantic partner, but I am not lonely! I have a wonderful support system made up of my family, friends, and sorority sisters. I travel to new and exciting places every single year. I have a fulfilling job, stimulating classes in college, and other exciting opportunities. I have an enriched and satisfying life. I am incredibly proud of the person I am. To me, 1989 is a celebration of life. A life that is full and beautiful and exhilarating. A life that is full of love in so many forms. A life that is lived to its highest potential. I don’t think that there should be any shame in being single at any age. I don’t think that we have a right to judge anyone’s life story because we have not lived it. I will say this for the rest of my life (because sometimes I need a reminder, too): if someone shames you or judges you for your life decisions, it is a reflection of them and their insecurities – most of the time, it has nothing to do with you. I have learned how to dance on my own. And when the time comes, I will dance with another. There will be a time in the future when I will be in a committed relationship, and I will never be single again. I will never have this era of my life again. I want to fully enjoy it and not rush into anything that is not meant to last. That is not to say that I am not open to love. I think that love will find me when the time is right because I have put in the work to be ready for it. I cannot love another without loving myself. 

P.S. Check out the photo attached to this blog post! My dad took me to see the 1989 tour when Swift came to St. Louis!

Conclusion

Swift will always be in my Spotify Wrapped and I am not ashamed of that. She has been a constant in my life from elementary school all the way into my college years. No matter what emotion I am feeling, I can put Swift on and feel better. Just like her music, these lessons will stick with me long into the future and help guide me throughout my life. I think that there is a lot that person during freshmen year could learn about Taylor Swift! I hope you all learned something too and more lessons are coming soon!

Bibliography and Author’s Note

What It Means to Be a Swiftie: Lessons I Have Learned From Taylor Swift (Part Two)

Lessons I Have Learned From Taylor Swift Playlist (Spotify)