it’s a love story..

when i discovered Taylor Swift, the year was 2006 (or 2007). her debut album had come out, and i remember completely relating to the song “the outside.” it was the first time i was able to see myself lyrically in the words of another person’s story. the song talks about continuously feeling like you’re the outsider looking in, watching everyone else belong while wondering why you never quite fit.

as time went on and more albums came out, she started taking over not only the music charts, but our lives because of her storytelling. there were songs about knowing when someone belongs with you, even if they haven’t realized it yet (you belong with me). the best first date you haven’t had yet (fearless). learning to breathe without someone who calmed every part of you (breathe). wondering what your life would look like if it were an actual romcom (if this was a movie). surviving the worst heartbreak of your life or grieving the greatest loss you’ve ever experienced (all too well and loml). there were songs about moving to a new city and creating memories with your friends (welcome to new york). and then there are those seasons of life where shit is just deep, dark, and low. nothing you’re doing feels right. you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. that’s when you crank up reputation.

i don’t need to go through every album or every song. you get what i’m describing. the world continued to watch and, more often than not, judged as she dated different people. when, in reality, that’s exactly what your twenties and thirties are for. you date. you learn. you figure out what you need, what you deserve, and what you won’t settle for. while the internet made jokes and criticized every relationship she was in, she kept her head down and turned every experience into art. every heartbreak, every disappointment, every lesson became another song that made millions of people feel a little less alone.

i think that’s why so many people have always connected to her music. we didn’t just grow up listening to Taylor Swift.

we grew up with her.

for nearly twenty years, we’ve watched her live through heartbreak, public scrutiny, grief, reinvention, and moments of unimaginable joy. our stories may not look identical, but the emotions have. while she was writing songs about learning to breathe after losing someone, some of us were trying to figure out how to do exactly that. while she was writing about starting over, we were packing boxes, moving to new cities, ending relationships, grieving people who were still alive, wondering if the person we loved would ever find their way back to us, or wondering if we’d ever feel like ourselves again.
that’s what has always made her music different. we were never just listening to Taylor Swift’s story. somehow, it became a way of understanding our own. and that never felt more evident than during the eras tour.

as the world watched her embark on the biggest tour of her career (and arguably the biggest tour in history) life didn’t suddenly stop happening. she was navigating a public breakup. canceled shows because of a terrorist threat. the heartbreaking attack at a children’s Taylor Swift dance class. and through it all, she kept showing up.

she showed up not just for herself, but for her fans, for the families forever changed by unimaginable tragedy, and for the people who had spent years finding pieces of themselves in her music. even on the days when she was simply a woman who had been dealt a really shitty hand, she walked onto that stage and gave everything she had. for three hours, people laughed, cried, screamed every lyric, and forgot (if only for a little while) the heaviness waiting for them outside the stadium. for nearly two decades, that’s been the gift of her storytelling.

maybe that’s why so many of us felt emotional watching the news yesterday. it wasn’t because a celebrity got married. it was because we watched a girl who spent nearly two decades giving us the words for our own heartbreak, loneliness, hope, and healing seemingly find a love that looks peaceful. we grew up believing love was supposed to be butterflies, grand gestures, and sometimes even pain. but maybe the greatest love story is simply finding someone who chooses you continuously, is your best friend, celebrates you, and respects you. after every song that taught us how to survive heartbreak, maybe this chapter reminds us that healing is possible too and that’s why this chapter feels bigger than a wedding. maybe it’s a reminder that heartbreak isn’t the end of anyone’s story. maybe, after all the versions of ourselves we’ve had to become just to survive, we get a happy ending too.

and that’s how it works.

that’s how he got the girl.