The "folklore" of Taylor Swift: Introduction

2020 has been quite the year. That's the understatement of the century, and though we're near the end of July, I know we all feel entirely fatigued about this year. Many people are uncertain about how our world looks today, and what we should expect for tomorrow.

Personally, I have always found comfort in listening to music, and one singer /songwriter in particular has been "with me" through all the ups and downs of the past 12 years. 

Taylor Swift. 

I've written about Taylor Swift's impact on my life in previous blogs on this site -- her lyrics have provided blog titles, Facebook photo album titles, and the words to my heart's deepest breaks and highest elations. I feel a kinship with her. It helps, I think, that Taylor and I the same age, so I really do feel as though we "grew up" together. We have similiar passions (red lipstick and our love of cats, to name two), and it seems that with every album Taylor has released throughout her career, my own life mirrored the diaries found within her songs. On her most recent album, "Lover", for example, Taylor sings a song that she wrote for her mom, who is battling brain cancer, "Soon You'll Get Better". My dad was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, a few months after I got married, and I can't help but think of his struggles when I hear that song. 

But more than that, Taylor Swift and I are both writers. We connect with the world through the cultivation of words, and the weaving of stories, both beautifully universal and poignantly personal. Taylor wears her heart on her sleeve in her lyrics about love, and politics, and dreams and doubts. I try to engage similarly with my limited audience. I speak truth about what it's like to live with my physical disabilities, advocate for inclusion for disabled people within all spheres of life, and share the beauty of the gospel because knowing Christ has transformed my life. Taylor and I both write about the simple joys of love found after years of loss, and hope to point our audiences to the beauty of everyday moments. 

This morning, I logged onto my social media to find that Taylor announced that she will be releasing her 8th studio album at midnight on July 24, 2020. The album is called "Folklore" and is the singer's first release since the news that she had lost the rights to her first six studio albums. It got me thinking of that word, "folklore". A quick Google definition of that word yields the following: "The traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth." 

Taylor's stories are the stories of "my community". Women who have dealt with first loves, and first losses. First jobs, and moves into new apartments and new lives. Women who have dealt with stalkers or sexual harassment, or the doubting of their capabilities because of some characteristic like gender, ability, or age. Women who have been bullied, betrayed, comforted and cared for. Women who are in love, and can't help but sing about it in a thousand ways. 

In the closing remarks of today's announcement, Taylor said, "My gut is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world. That’s the side of uncertainty I can get on board with." So, with that in mind, I'm going to start a series about the impact of each of Taylor Swift's albums in my life. I'm putting it out into the world. 

Fans know that we call each album release a new Taylor Swift "Era" which really helps to connect with Taylor's newest  folklore concept -- that stories are passed down through generations. 

There will be 13 blog posts in this series - this introductory blog post being the first. Why 13? That's Taylor's "lucky " number, and she's always clever in how she makes that connection.  I will speak about each of the albums that have been released since 2006, including one blog post about her Netflix special and conclude with my thoughts about the newest release which debuts tomorrow, July 24th (7/24 converts to 13, if you break it down: 7+2+4 =13).  I've wanted to do something like this for quite some time but never felt that it was worth it, or that anyone would read it or care about how much her music matters to my life. 

But if Taylor Swift has taught me anything, it's to be "fearless" -- to wear my heart on my sleeve, and to write about the things that matter to me.