Only one month into the new year, and I have been faced with obstacles that I could not have imagined I would have to experience in my whole life. 2023: the year of my eighteenth birthday, entering senior year, and making the most of what's left of my high school experience. While reminiscing on my life at the moment, I am often brought back to Taylor Swift’s song in her newly released album, “You’re On Your Own Kid". This song is Taylor Swift’s interpretation of her childhood, and the balance of loss and growth in her life. Her famous lyrics, “Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned, everything you lose is a step you take” make me realize that no matter where you are in life, what age you are, what your story is, at some point everyone will experience these themes of growing up and losing things in order to reach a new mark. Personally, my favorite part of these lyrics is the idea that with every bad thing that happens in your life, there comes some good out of it: “Everything you lose is a step you take."

Towards the beginning of Taylor Swift’s song, she states, “I didn't choose this town, I dream of getting out, there's just one who could make me stay”. As I listened to these lyrics for the first time, and then over and over again, I imagined how children are thrown into a life they did not choose. As a child, you are placed in a setting where you are expected to create something out of nothing. Taylor Swift’s interpretation of being placed in a setting, and then growing up, dreaming of leaving reminds me of the process of graduating high school and leaving our childhood behind that I as well as my peers are bound to face. The idea of applying to colleges, searching around for a whole new environment, where a brand new chapter of your life will begin seems intimidating as well as exciting. Within the lyrics, Taylor Swift sings “There's just one who could make me stay”. This specific part of the song reminded me of my best friends whom I wish to keep in my life throughout whatever journeys I am about to embark on. Although change is something everyone is bound to face in their lives, if there is one thing that makes me fear the process of leaving where I’ve grown up, it is leaving my friends.

Further into the song, Taylor Swift sings, “So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, you've got no reason to be afraid”. “Make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it” sums up what I consider my perspective on life at the moment, as well as how I desire to finish off my high school experience. If there is one thing I have learned throughout my seventeen years of living, it is how important the quality of friendship is. One of my best friends who is currently facing an obstacle of her own recently told me, “Although I have been cursed with all the bad happening to me right now, I have somehow been blessed with the best friends.” My whole life has changed in the past month, yet
throughout everything that has happened and beyond, the people I know I can count on are my best friends and I know we can understand each other to an extent that most people can’t. I’ve learned that friendship is something that you cannot take for granted and good friends are truly a luxury.

Sometimes the things in life that bring me comfort to my mind are the things that can’t be answered with a simple yes or no. I often wonder, does everything in life truly happen for a reason? The more I think of this concept, I realize that everything that has happened in my life has somehow altered my perspective, and each experience reflects upon who I am. Taylor Swift sings, “I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this”. I interpret these lyrics as her sharing how she gave something her all, and in the end it may not have been worth it but it's another experience which has shaped who she is as a person. A question that lingers, but most people don’t take the time to unravel is the question of how I have evolved throughout the years. Questions like these are what triggers Taylor Swift’s lyrics about how you work so hard and no matter what the outcome is, the journey getting there has changed you. Although Taylor Swift’s song is not specifically about growing up, it interprets the stages of growing up. One of the most powerful lyrics in my opinion is, “Just to learn that my dreams aren't rare”. These lyrics shift you into the real world, or the adult world one could say, and as a child you often dream of the most magical, fantastical ideas but the process of growing up includes shifting away from those dreams. Throughout her song, different themes appear, yet every lyric carries a different meaning and makes you feel a certain emotion.

Life hits you in all different directions; experiences are something that occurs and not ones you can always predict. If there is one thing I take away from Taylor Swift’s meaningful lyrics, it's “You’ve got no reason to be afraid”. The feeling of your heart racing, palms sweating, mind spinning, those are all speed bumps until you get to your true destination. Every new experience in life has taught me to view each day, each interaction, each obstacle, differently. I am often asked what I fear the most, and it is difficult for me to answer with one word. I realize that may be because the thing I fear the most in life is the feeling of fear. Fear is the emotion that runs throughout my body at certain times, and it is easier to tell myself not to be afraid than to do the actual action. Taylor Swift’s message that, “You’ve got no reason to be afraid” conveys the idea that you will lose things, gain things, experience good and bad, but those are all stages of life and you can’t be afraid of life.