Taylor Swift

10 years ago my Grandpa passed away and it hit me hard. I remember that I was very sad and I only wanted to listen to things that didn’t make me think about anything. I needed music that didn’t have any memories attached to it. This was when I first started to listen to Taylor Swift.

At the time Red had been out a while and I’m not even sure how I first started to listening to it but I quickly became obsessed with Red. Some of the songs were sad but they were sad in a different way from how I was feeling sad. It was a perfect album to distract me.

Soon I went back and started to listen to Taylor Swift’s other albums and by the time that 1989 was released I was officially a fan.

About a week before the 1989 tour hit Toronto I decided to try to get a ticket. I lucked out and I was able to get a ticket for $40 in the absolutely last row of the Rogers Centre (Skydome).

The energy in the stadium was crazy, it made me excited just to be there. I bought a teeshirt and headed to my seat. Taped to the seat was a white bracelet which I soon learned would light up in to the music making everyone in attendance apart of the show. I was the farthest you could get from the stage but I didn’t care since the ticket was such a deal.

I didn’t really have any expectations, I didn’t know anyone who had seen her and this was before a million clips were circulating online. What I saw really blew me away. This was the moment that I realized that Taylor Swift really has something special. I was in the last row nowhere near the stage and yet I somehow felt very connected to Taylor. It was amazing. It was like she knew that I was there and that she was preforming for me. The bracelets helped the experience as well. When they all lit up it made you feel connected to not only Taylor Swift but to everyone in the stadium. I felt like I was really a part of something and I know that I will never be able to properly describe it but it is a feeling that I will never forget.

Over the years I feel like I became a more casual fan than a Swifie. I still listened to every album on the release day but I think that I didn’t need the escape that she provided me as much as I needed it in the beginning anymore.

Recently my love for Taylor Swift has been reignited. I think that it started up again when my niece started to listen to and love Shake it Off. It reminded me that Taylor Swift’s music is a lot of fun. Then this past summer I got to show my niece a bunch of Taylor Swift music videos and I started to play her two songs when I did her bedtime. (Shh it is our secret special Taylor Swift bedtime songs).

I didn’t get tickets to the Era’s Tour in person but I did get to see the movie in the theatre and that was pretty amazing. I was completely mesmerized at parts unable to take my eyes away from the screen. This tour is another level and Taylor Swift is a force on stage. She danced and sang her heart out all while looking like she was having the time of her life. That is what a true performer is. The whole thing is almost three hours but the time flew by and it was over in a snap. I probably could have sat down and watched it all over again right then and there. I can’t wait to watch it again.

We might not have had light up bracelets in the movie theatre but there was still connection in the crowd. Everyone was singing, clapping and cheering. Everyone was excited and once again it felt like I was apart of something. That is a pretty amazing thing to be able to do.

I think that I will always have a special place in my heart for Taylor Swift. Her music helped me get through a difficult time, it has helped me bond with my niece and it has made me feel connected and like I am not alone. Thank you Taylor Swift.