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a series of tweets about taylor’s storytelling were posted that outlined the idea that writing about love saving you from trauma is something she should leave behind. the tweets further explained that only the person who experienced trauma can heal themselves
from it as opposed to the story that taylor often shares: that her love saved her when all seemed lost. i think i get where that stance comes from, but it’s a tough one for me to agree with.
this kind of logic made its way around the internet when i was in high school. i still see it now: “if you don’t love yourself, you can’t expect anybody else to love you”. i don’t think this is true in any way and i think taylor’s a really good example of that. 2016 made her feel
unlovable— she left thinking even we wanted her to. after falling in love, we’ve seen what’s happened. she’s really blossomed into a woman who continues to create in ways i’ve always wanted to see from her but never thought i’d get to. she appears really fulfilled. i don’t know
her, but i feel comfortable saying this. love can make you blossom in a way that’s not at all about your companion.
we can’t minimize the importance of two things, especially during this time. one: trauma happens and the healing process is anything but predictable. the media is
we can’t minimize the importance of two things, especially during this time. one: trauma happens and the healing process is anything but predictable. the media is
still unfriendly and there are still vultures waiting for missteps. it makes sense that falters (or even perceived falters) put her back into a place where she’s inspired to continue to write from the perspective of 2016-2017 taylor. those wounds may never be healed. dishonoring
that process is to disrespect trauma and healing in its many forms. the second thing we can’t disregard is connection. did you that one of the most helpful things for those in need of support for their mental health is meaningful connection? for taylor, this undoubtedly means
several things: her relationship, her
career, and us. she’s connected to her lover and that’s wonderful! now more than ever, let’s celebrate that she has someone so dear to lean on. she’s connected to the songwriting process too. she’s using old notes stored in her phone as new
career, and us. she’s connected to her lover and that’s wonderful! now more than ever, let’s celebrate that she has someone so dear to lean on. she’s connected to the songwriting process too. she’s using old notes stored in her phone as new
inspiration and that might mean delving into previously explored topics but that connection to the work she cherishes so much matters. lastly, she aims to connect to us, something she’s made abundantly clear. she knows how much we see ourselves through her work and she loves
giving us the space within her work to infuse our tales too. to say that she should steer away from doing what she does to stay connected to these things is to ask taylor to be less taylor, and i think that’s what’s hardest for a lot of people to read.
i have lots of thoughts as all of my identities as a professional and academic and personal person kind of come together to process this and i don’t think the original tweets were malicious at all— i just wanted to share thoughts from my pea brain
