Over the years her songs would come on the radio or her videos would cross my view and I found them amusing and enjoyable enough. I never dismissed them, but I also didn’t give them much weight.
When my daughter started paying attention to Taylor Swift a couple of years ago I paid more attention to the lyrics. Listening to the songs I had heard before, but more intently, I began to like them even more.
Some of these songs she wrote when she was a teenager. There seems to be a bit more depth and insight to some of these songs than you would expect from somebody of that age. My respect for Taylor Swift increased.
The more I listened the more I liked. And her personal life kept getting played out in the media and her responses weren’t the typical trashy things you might expect from a young woman in her position. She wanted to keep her private life as private as she could but she understands that she is in the limelight and that comes as a cost. She is trying to balance the two the best she can.
And she is a smart business woman. The more I read about her the more I respect her.
By staying true to herself, making the music she wants, by living her life the way she wants but without being trashy about it, she has become a positive role model for girls. My daughter is one of them.
She is able to poke fun at herself, taking her own celebrity with a grain of salt but still staying on her own message, and without coming across as a having a superior attitude. Taylor Swift has shown herself to be a rare performer that finds herself in a position of power and is using it not just for her own self-interest.
You may not like her music, but as a person, it is hard to fault her for anything other than being herself, which is a positive message that many young girls need to hear. Many of her songs are love songs, but they are also about finding inner strength, a rarity these days. And I have no problem with my daughter being a fan of Taylor Swift’s music.
For this reason I am excited to be taking my daughter to her first “grown up” concert. She has seen live music before, but in a festival setting. This will be very different. For her birthday I am taking her to see Taylor Swift in just under 2 weeks here in Seattle. She doesn’t know and it is going to be a complete surprise.
Being able to see Taylor Swift through my daughter’s eyes has made me a fan, rather than just somebody who found some of her songs amusing. I am glad I am going to have the opportunity to take her to her first concert, and have it be somebody who will leave a lasting and positive impression on her.
I am a 47 year old man and I like Taylor Swift.
And I am not ashamed to admit this.