Girlhood is the time when a girl transitions from a child to a woman. A time that we form our morals and encounter hardships that make us who we will be for the rest of our lives. A time when a girl sets the standards for what she deserves in the world and decides how she will let men treat her the rest of her life. Taylor swift is girlhood, my girlhood.
Just like it was yesterday, I can remember my dad coming home from work with a surprise for me, a 1989 CD, and the feeling I felt listening to it on repeat in my little Hello Kitty CD player for hours on end until it got so scratched up I couldn’t make out what she was saying anymore. Ever since, my love for Swift has grown exponentially. When I listen to Taylor on my morning drives to school now, I understand her. My little 8 year old self however, tried her best to learn all the lyrics but never saw the deeper meaning behind the words and could never relate to them. Each time I listen to one of her songs over again, I gain a better understanding of a lyric and learn something new about life. When I listen to her today it transports me back to a time in my life when the world was so simple and I had no cares. She is a blanket of my youth that covers me up to bring comfort in coping with the difficulties of growing up. I love Taylor now because I grew up with her, and because of that, she is my girlhood.
From her early hits like “Shake It Off,” to her most recent albums, Taylor Swift’s music has been a soundtrack to many girls’ “girlhoods.” Growing up alongside her songs, I’ve seen her develop as an artist and as a person. Her ability to articulate the difficulties of getting older, navigating relationships, and finding your voice as a woman in a man’s world speaks so loudly, especially to her young audience. To be a girl making her way through childhood at the same time as Swift is a privilege that I will forever be grateful for and a feeling we will never be able to fully capture or explain to our children. The feeling of being in a several thousand person deep queue on ticketmaster. The feeling of spending countless hours creating an outfit, making friendship bracelets, and painting a number 13 on your hand. The feeling of anticipation you got waiting for her surprise song and scream singing along to it with a sold out stadium (that you were lucky enough to have tickets to). Those are the best moments of girlhood that Taylor Swift has created for us. For her fans, she has created a community that empowers women and feels so closely connected. Being a part of Taylor Swift’s community means feeling loved, supported, heard, and seen.