A Tale as Old as Time

It's 2008, and I am sitting in the front passenger seat of my mum's old blue Barina, my little sister directly behind me while mum reverses up the driveway to head out for the afternoon. As mum finishes reversing and puts the Barina into drive, my fingers are already reaching for the stereo (we did not have Apple Carplay back then), ready to put my favourite radio station on when I hear "You were Romeo you were throwing pebbles" (Swift, 2008). Mum turns to me saying 'this is Taylor Swift, do you like her music?', I replied 'she's okay, but she is dating Joe Jonas', as a moody freshly turned teenager does (one who also believed that she would one day marry Nick Jonas mind you), and knew the second we returned home I would immediately be on Limewire downloading every possible Taylor Swift song that I could download for my iPod Nano. I guess now is the time to apologise to my parents for the constant computer viruses...

After my Nano was filled with Taylor Swift songs, that was it, I was a Swiftie, who turned my sister into a Swiftie, my mum into a Swiftie, and even my dad into a Swiftie. Love Story was our jam, You're Not Sorry brought us to tears, and my mum hoped Fifteen would ensure my sister and I made the correct choice to not get our hearts broken. Taylor and her two released albums at the time (Debut and Fearless) was all we listened to, again and again, during an interstate move, the breakdown of my parents marriage, for the start and end of my first relationship, and more. 

Each of Taylor's albums hold meaning to her fans, core memories for me are listening to each of the albums with my mum and sister, screaming the lyrics to the songs with them, while also trying to explain to our mum what the song is about (it was a very long ten minutes when Red (Taylor's Version) was released with All Too Well 10 minute version). Her music resonates with her fans, and helps them through things, as it helped during the breakdown of my parents marriage, and ultimately mine. Being able to see the Eras Tour Concert in Sydney with my sister was amazing, and there was no one else I would have wanted to scream the lyrics all night long with, so thank you Taylor, for ensuring my relationship with my sister is concrete through your music. 

(Image by Getty Images)