Forever Changed

If you have followed my blog for a while, or if you know me in general,  you know I am a Swifty. Sure, it took me awhile, but once I watched the video for 'You Belong With Me', I was hooked. I got really into her through late 2011 and stayed into her until she released Red. Now I've talked about the stuff I dislike about in her.  Now, to be fair, I want to talk about the stuff I like about her.

Well, the thing I love the most about her is her song writing style. I have searched everywhere and never found anyone with a amazing, unique writing style like hers. The reason I like country sometimes better than I like an genre of music is because I love how country music tells a story. It's the author in me I suppose. If you know Taylor Swift, you know that every song she sings has a story and she has a beautiful, raw way of telling those stories that no one can come by easily. I love how she interacts with her fans and adore her hilarious video blogs, which surprisingly I watched for the first time last week. Though I will always love her country music better, I do enjoy her pop side. Because she has changed a lot in the past few years, I will always miss that smiling, innocent girl with the curls, giving Romeo and Juliet a happy ending.

Along with this post about me rambling about Taylor Swift, I thought I'd talk about one of my favorite songs by her, the song that has inspired me the most. Though its one of her older ones, it will ALWAYS be one of my favorite songs. This is song is called 'Fifteen'.

Basically, this song is about your freshman year at high school which is one of the things Taylor calls 'fearless'. (Like me, Taylor was born late in the year) The is actually an autobiography of her and her best friend, Abigail who she met that year. Writing this song herself, she put details in it that gives us a dark, yet realistic picture as she talks about the good.... and bad things of high school.

"Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors/It's the morning of your very first day," she begins. "It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here for the next four years in this town." Right away, we get a the feeling of a fifteen-year-old girl's desire for love. "Wanting one of the those seniors boy who wink at you and say, "I haven't see you before." 

The song goes on, talking about the reality of being fifteen. One of my favorite lines is this song is, "When you're fifteen, somebody tells you he loves, you're gonna believe them." There is so much truth in that line.

Awhile ago, I was writing a story about a fifteen-year-old girl's freshman year in high school. In it, she did some pretty bad things. She's wasn't a Christian at the time of course. But about halfway through the book, I started asking myself, "Wait a minute, why is she risking and sacrificing so much to keep her new friends and her boyfriend happy? Why is she changing her character and trusting her boyfriend in a way she doesn't even trust her parents?" At the time, I didn't even have the answer!

But I believe that the answer lies in that line. Because when we're fifteen, we're so young, we haven't see enough lies to know what the truth is yet! We might not even have seen real love displayed! I've learned that at a young age, girls (including me) have a strong desire for love. Real love is hard to come by, but at fifteen, you don't know that! When you're fifteen, you will believe in 'love' even if it's totally obvious that it's a lie. When you're fifteen, you will make sacrifices in order to get it. Why? Because you believe in those fairy tales and happily ever afters.

That influence definitely shows up on this song. Taylor meets a girl named Abigail who one of her best friends in real life. (Well, then anyway) Singing dreamily, Taylor coos, "And then you're on your very first date/And he's got a car/And you're feeling like flying... you're dancing 'round your room when the night ends." Even the mention of a first kiss gets into this song. "Your first kiss makes your head spin wild." But Taylor reminds us that the things we do in high school are not as great as we think they are. "In this life, you'll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team/I didn't know it at fifteen." That's probably my favorite line in Taylor Swift song ever!

Then a dark cloud seems to cover the songs as Taylor sings about heartbreak. "All you wanted was to be wanted/Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now." Then she speaks of something that happened in real life to her best friend. "And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy who changed his mind/And we both cried."

 The video evens warns against heartbreak. In the video, Abigail (played by herself) goes on a date with a guy. In his car, they kiss, but when the boy takes things too far, she stops it. Afterwards, the guy leaves her.

Taylor presents high school as a hard world and it is. Even though I've never been in high school before, I've read enough of teen fiction to get the idea.

Love is a hard thing too. Being fifteen and wanting love is even harder. We just have to remember: Love is hard to come by, but lies aren't. Taylor has changed a lot since her high school years. "Don't forgot to look before you fall."

Looking at her now, I wish she was still fifteen.
Sometimes I wish she would take up her own advice.