Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past seven years, you’ve probably heard a song by Taylor Swift. You may have even seen her walking around campus last year with her friend who went here. And you probably have some sort of opinion on her. Either you absolutely love her and every song she writes is totally you and your life and ‘oh my goodness you would die to go to her concert,’ or you probably cannot stand her songs and thinks she’s so whiney and should probably write a song called “Maybe I’m The Problem.” Love her or hate her, I have found that a lot of her songs have good lessons to be learned for the average college woman. Here are some of the things you can learn by listening to a Taylor Swift song:
- “I’m Only Me When I’m With You” – This song has meant something to me since the first time I heard it with my best friend of now nine years. I know at first listen this song seems like it has to be about a boy, but if you really listen to it, it can be about anybody in your life. Best friend, mom, sister or even boyfriend. It’s about that one person you can be yourself with in any situation, the person who knows you inside and out, the person who can drive you absolutely insane, but you still love him or her for everything he or she is. This song is about that special person everyone deserves and hopefully has hiding somewhere in their life.
The lesson: find that person you can be you with and never let him or her go!
- “Fearless” – This song is such a stereotypical girl love song, but that’s not a bad thing. “Fearless” is about falling in love, something that takes so much bravery that we take it for granted. It’s about falling so hard for a person that nothing else matters, and trusting them with your love even when they could completely break your heart.
The lesson: don’t be afraid to love someone with everything you have because most of the time it’s worth it.
- “Mean” – I will be the first to admit, when I heard this song I was thinking, “Come on Taylor, get it together. Do you really need another song about how mean some guy is?” But I would really encourage everyone to watch the music video of this song to get the real message. This song is about being bullied, about going through your whole life hearing that you are not good enough.
The lesson: you can become whatever you want, no matter what anyone has to say about it.
- “Trouble” – I’m gonna throw this right out there and say the beginning of this music video is creepy. I’m not sure what happened to Miss Taylor but she must have had it rough. But on some level this happens to us all. We all find that one bad boy we’re interested in, whether we actually date him or not. The one who lives on the dangerous side of life and challenges us to do the same. And when it’s over, we’re not really sure what happened. In the end she says “I don’t know if you know who you are until you lose who you are.”
The lesson: be wary of those bad boys, they’re fun, but can take so much from you if you let them.
- “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” – This has got to be Taylor’s most annoying song. It might be the most annoying song ever written. But have you ever met that couple who cannot seem to break up for good? Oh, they definitely break up every other week and can’t stand being around each other half the time and generally drive all their friends insane, but for some reason cannot figure out that maybe the problem is the whole relationship. Maybe, you’re in that relationship. I’m sorry if this has offended you, but here’s the truth: you gotta fix it or just say “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”
The Lesson: you probably don’t need to go back for fourths, fifths, sixths or anything more in a relationship.
- “22” – This is one of the most fun, up-beat, love your life songs I have heard this year. Every time I hear it I just want to jump up and dance the night away with my best girlfriends. And why not? I keep hearing, “Oh, I can’t wait to be 22 so I can jam out to ‘22,’” but seriously, this song is more than just an age! It’s an anthem of girls of all ages! Get rid of the guys and have a girls night and listen to this song a thousand times and HAVE A GOOD TIME, because that’s what college is about.
The lesson: enjoy the time you have to go have fun with your friends because it won’t last forever.
Love Taylor or hate her, Miss Swift definitely has been around the block and can teach every girl something about friendships, love and being yourself!