I Want To Be Like Taylor Swift When I Grow Up

I am in awe of Taylor Swift. She’s one of my favorite famous people. And yes, I hope to be like her when I grow up.

I know, she’s younger than me. By almost ten years. But that has nothing to do with it.

I was watching the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday night. Taylor was up for two awards on her own and three for Highway Don’t Care (Tim McGraw’s song that she was a guest singer for). Highway Don’t Care won one award but Taylor didn’t win any on her own. She performed, but wasn’t on stage to give a thank you speech at any point.

I was disappointed. Honestly. I think she’s very talented. But that’s not why I want to be like her when I grow up.

Taylor Swift is (outwardly since I’ve never actually met her) an amazing person. She’s talented, driven, focused, generous, and true to herself. But it’s that last one that I admire so much. She knows who she is and she’s not afraid to share it with the world.

We should all be so brave.

During Miranda Lambert’s acceptance speech for Female Vocalist of the Year she didn’t say anything about Taylor. She mentioned what an honor it was to win over the other women and how much she admired them, but Taylor’s name was conspicuously absent. It may have been an oversight, but in my mind it said Taylor isn’t called up for slumber parties with the other women.

Another part of the show Darius Rucker sang Wagon Wheel. I don’t know what it is about that song but it’s catchy and makes you want to dance. The entire crowd was on their feet singing along. It was awesome. But when the camera flashed to Taylor, she was dancing. In the aisle. By herself. She was carefree, singing along and dancing without a care in the world. It was awesome. (The picture above is one taken when she was dancing.)

I wouldn’t have had her guts. Would you?

Taylor is not someone I admire because she’s popular. She’s someone I admire because she’s living the life she wants to live. She’s had shitty luck in relationships, her songs attest to that, but she’s her own person. Yeah, I’d love to see her find someone that suits her, but only if that’s what she wants. If she’s happy alone, good for her.

No matter what, she’s strong, kind, and unique. And I respect the hell out of that.

It’s important to have someone to look up to. Yeah, it’d be cool if I could call her up and get some inspiration or advice from her. But that’ll never happen. Still, watching her live her life and be exactly who she is inspires me enough.

You don’t have to have hundreds of close friends to be popular.
You don’t have to have awards lining your shelves to be successful.
You don’t have to have a husband to be happy.
You don’t have to have a ton of money to be generous.
But…
You have to know who you are and be willing to share that person with the world.
You have to be true to yourself and not bend because of anyone else.
You have to be willing to go against everyone else to do what’s right for you.

It’s hard. I struggle all the time with it. In some ways we all do. But I’m learning every day. It’s what I’m teaching my kids and try to show them. But it’s easier to sit back and watch someone like Taylor Swift be herself. It’s easy to think she’s perfect and she has it all so it’s not that big of a deal. But I think she has more struggles than we realize. Her music tells us what’s in her heart, but for someone who sings so much about love and loss, she’s alone. My heart breaks for her. They say it’s lonely at the top and unfortunately she’s finding that to be true.

But I have no doubt Taylor will come out ahead. She’s a focused, determined, beautiful woman and one day she’ll find the person who appreciates all that.

I just hope her music is as good…

Who makes you push just a little harder to be yourself?

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