I'm Erica. I'm 26. And I Love Taylor Swift.

I'm not sure I'd consider myself as being vocal about things that I like. Sometimes I feel it & other times I don't. Sometimes I just feel like its not worth the time it takes to argue out my point. And sometimes it's bc I really really want to be right...and other times I'm fine with believing why I want to like something even if no one else understands or thinks like I do. 

With that being said, I think Taylor Swift takes a lot of crap from a lot of people. And I'm guessing that the people that give her grief have no connection with her at all.  I dont have any connection with her that is two-way...I do follow her social media outlets (twitter, instagram) but other than that and having the most fun I've had in a long time at my first Taylor Swift concert over the weekend, me and TSwift aren't best friends.  

It's too easy to google something like, "Taylor Swift critics" & see loads of links pop up in under 2 seconds.  And yes, I mean literally, 2 seconds. I often wonder why it is that people criticize her & talk bad about her. I've heard the same thing year after year every time one of her new albums wins an award, or a new song of hers climbs the charts to the number one slot...and stays there for weeks. I've often thought, "who cares? What's your beef?" this is usually the answer I hear; "oh my gosh, ANOTHER song about a boyfriend. What a ______(insert inappropriate verbiage here)".  And for some odd reason, it kinda ticks me off.  I've heard numerous times how awful she is live in concert.  I've heard it all, it's no stayed secret.  

So I thought, "why does it make me mad when I hear someone raise a rebuttal to my explanation of why I love Taylor Swift?" I feel as though I have an answer, but I'll share it later.

I may even take some flak for "going public" with my secret of really loving Taylor & her music. But I don't care. And I say that not with venom spewing out of my mouth at 'Taylor haters' but with...feelings & emotion. 

I'm deep into the thought of story. 

And what's a story without feelings & emotions? Usually a biography. (joke). I think there's a common thread of DNA in all of us.  It's the thread of story. It's the thread that connects us to people we will never know & even those we know very well. Story connects human beings. Why? Because our story is the truest one someone will ever hear.

We like juicy facts. It intrigues us. It keeps us lunging for more, craning our necks to hear the next thing.  It reminds us, "hey, I'm not actually alone in this." 

Story connects us with God. Why? Because His Word is a story, the other truest one you'll ever read.  He's the Author & Finisher of every last story represented on earth and in heaven. God chose the method of story-telling to teach us about His relentless pursuit for us...we imperfect humans. He gives us rules to follow bc He loves us & wants His best for us. It's laced all throughout the Old & New Testament.  Stories upon stories of countless people, following Him, disobeying Him, but He still pursued them. Murderers, thieves, Pharisees, liars, gossips, unfaithful cheaters, betrayers, etc..  But...He STILL chose them, He still loved them. He loved them as much as He loves me now and even in 5 years from now, no matter what I do or don't do. His love is constant & unconditional. I know this from reading it time after time in His Story. 

I think it's just in us, the need we have to share our story. And there are handfuls of ways to do it and 

the way I'm good at it may not be the way that you're good at it.  And that's OK!! 

It's what makes us unique.  For some, it might be short, pithy sayings on a twitter account or fb post.
It may be public speaking. It might be in a lengthy text message, or email. It could be over coffee
once a week with a dear friend or mentor. Or it could be a stranger in the grocery store. Or like
me...writing a blog...about how much I love Taylor Swift. We're all linked and wired to share our
story. 

Have you ever considered, just maybe, Taylor Swift is sharing her story through song-writing? That she shares her talent (yes, I said talent) with grave vulnerability each time she writes in her journal and puts guitar chords to it? Or sits down at a piano and spills her emotion onto the keys in front of her? Have you ever considered...that Taylor Swift is a real human being? Like you?

I think that's what got me.  Of course I was EXCITED to see her live in concert.  Obviously. Of 

course I felt like a teenager stuck inside my 

mid-20's as I sat in angst, waiting for her to take the stage (and praying it would never end.)
Absolutely I felt like a little girl getting spoiled on Christmas when i opened my new Taylor Swift cd
& the concert ticket with it. Her cd was at the top of my Christmas list...I NEVER expected a concert
ticket.

But the thing that got me was this; the look on her face after she sang her first song. It was on the big screen for 50,000 screaming fans to see.  But for some strange reason, I doubt 98% of them saw what
I saw.  I stared at the screen as I cheered and clapped. And it hit me. The look on her face, as she
scanned the crowd, made it feel like she was trying to connect with each face individually. 100,00
eyes staring at her 2, staring back at us. The look on her face said, "they all came for...me?" it was as
if her dream had come true right on that stage and she was really witnessing it for the very first time. 
She was sharing her story with thousands upon thousands of people. It's her way of sharing her story; 
writing music & performing it. 

What an amazing gift of influence she has. A sold out crowd came to hear a 23-year old's story.  She
sold out Ford Field...The Lions can't even do that on Thanksgiving day.  The show she did a couple
days prior in Kentucky sold out at 17,000. That's like filling up Joe Lous Arena 3 times & putting it into Ford Field...that's how big her crowd was on Saturday night.

In that moment of ear-deafening screaming, it was like I could hear her thoughts. She was astounded. More than we were. Much of her fans idolize her, but in that moment, I humanized her. She has feelings, emotions, tragedies, fears, family, friends & a story. Just like I do. Just like you do. The way we express our stories is different...and that's good. 

Earlier in my rant, I said it really ticks me off when I hear ppl complaining about who Taylor Swift is & what she's not. And heres the reason I came up with; bc shes a person to me, not just some idol on a pedestal.  I don't see her as some crazed alien with no feelings & no heart. She's a human...just like me...just like you. She has an address, a cell phone, a mom and dad and even a cat.  You can argue that she's different bc of the amount of money she has. You can say she's a stuck up _______ whatever that has no feelings.  You can criticize her for being fake.  But I have a hunch that she just wants to be herself....and then share that.  

Jeeeesh! Why you gotta be so mean? 😉