I would like to start this off by saying that I never doubted Taylor’s new album would be incredible for a single second. Each song on this album makes me feel a different type of way and it’s beautiful and sad and I absolutely love it. Originally, I was going to write about the entire album and attempt to break it down, but I’ve come to realize that that may be a little ambitious, even for me. So instead, I figured I’d start with one song and work my way up from there.

My favorite song off of the album is “You’re on Your Own, Kid” for a multitude of reasons. The song is about Taylor’s rise to fame and how she’s grateful for her success, but how the things that she struggled with on the path continue to haunt her. When I tell you I have never felt more called out by a song. I swear she wrote it about me. The song highlights how it feels to leave behind your hometown and growing into a new person while leaving behind people you love. Taylor talks about how writing love songs in her room to help her get through heartbreak grew into something so much larger than her that she didn’t see coming. It’s an ode to her childhood and what it took for her to get to the point that she’s at now.

The part of the song that really gets me is “So take the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, you’ve got no reason to be afraid”. As a nineteen year old girl who has been through her fair share of heartache and still has a lot of growing up to do, it’s comforting to hear that you don’t have to be afraid of branching out even after you get hurt. It’s something that everyone needs to learn, but can be hard to accept.

This song perfectly encapsulates what it was like to grow up the friend that was the victim of the joke. It’s for the girl who hosted the parties but never got invited to them. The girl who bent over backwards for others at the price of hurting herself. It’s for the girls healing from that. The ones that have grown up and moved forward in their lives instead of letting the past hold them captive. It’s for me and it’s for you too.

All my love,

-Lexi