It’s not that my older sister didn’t love me, I just don’t think she actually liked me. One minute she was obsessed with her new baby sister, and the next, she was a moody teenager that did not give me the time of day. I remember my other sister and I only really seeing her at the dinner table while growing up.
I wish I could go back and tell the little girl that just wanted to be acknowledged by her big sister, that one day, in a few years, they would become absolutely inseparable.
All it took was the release of Taylor Swift’s masterpiece and fourth studio album “Red.”
During her sophomore year of college, my sister’s boyfriend dumped her and left her with two tickets to see Taylor Swift’s Red tour in Philadelphia (if you ever read this, thank you for breaking my sister’s heart, it was the best thing that ever happened to me).
I was 10 years old and still completely idolized my eldest sister. The concert was in a few weeks and of course as fate had it, I was coming home from summer camp a few days before Taylor would arrive in Philadelphia.
I don’t know what my parents exactly said to my sister to convince her to bring me. I’d assume they alluded to the fact that my middle sister would be the only one to have a relationship with me, and she would regret it when she was older.
I am so grateful that she listened to them because she’s usually an incredibly stubborn person. I was over the moon when I found out I was going to hang out with my big sister.
I wanted to impress her and make sure I was the ideal concert buddy. I did my homework by listening to every single brilliant song on that album with intense focus using my old iPod.
A memory I will never forget from that concert is when my sister grabbed me and sobbed in my arms. “All Too Well” came on and my heartbroken sister belted out every word. She looked at me after the song ended and said, “I’m so happy to have you here with me Nik.”
I remember driving back with her after the show ended (with Taylor Swift obviously blaring) and being so grateful that she shared this experience with me.
That’s when my transformation into a die-hard and proud “Swiftie” was complete. And I remember hoping that she would listen to Taylor Swift with me again soon.
She has, so many times that I’ve lost count. She recently told me that her favorite thing to do was to talk Taylor with me. It’s now an ongoing tradition for us to attend Taylor Swift concerts together.
She is one of the best big sisters someone could have, and she made the effort after that concert to find even more stuff to bond over. But Taylor Swift is by far the main reason we are so close.
So thank you, Taylor Swift, for not only releasing the best heartbreak album of all time, but for giving me my best friend.