Confessions of a Swiftie

What Taylor Swift has achieved at her mere 24 years of age lies somewhere between sensational and remarkable. Go ahead and call me a feminist if I say she is an inspiration for women everywhere. She's currently the biggest pop sensation on the planet,
with a fiercely dedicated mass of followers of all ages. As the youngest ever songwriter to be signed by Sony/ATV she's racked up a whopping 26 million album sales worldwide plus over 51 million digital download sales in the US alone, 4 Top Ten (multi-platinum) studio albums, 33 singles, 8 number one hits, 7 Grammy Awards, 15 American Music Awards, 11 CMAA Awards, 7 ACMA Awards and 12 Billboards Music Awards. Not to mention 2 Golden Globe nominations, honours from the Nashville Songwriters' Association and Songwriters' Hall Of Fame as well as being the first ever woman to be awarded the Country Music Association's Pinnacle Award. She is one of the best-selling artists of all time.  

Aged just 14 she managed to convince her parents to move to Nashville in order for her to pursue her dream of being a songwriter. Trawling the streets and banging on everyones door until someone took notice landed her a deal with Sony/ATV and later (2005) a million dollar deal with Big Machine Records. She has nobody but herself to thank for her incredible success. I consider her to be very a successful businesswoman. Time magazine has named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Sheer determination and real talent has got her where she is today and that inspires me. Let's not forget the girl herself of course - she's America's teen angel turned adorable young starlet. She's genuinely nice which comes across in all of her interviews and appearances. She has refused to give in to modern society and says it like it is, wears the clothes she wants and continues to be down to earth. Her live shows sell out in minutes and extra dates are often added due to such high demand. Men and women, boys and girls alike will chant along to her bittersweet anthems (myself included) and go crazy for her energetic, fun performances. Her social media following is off the scale.

So what it is about this young, ballad belting blonde that we all fell so hard for?

For me it's complete admiration. She's my idol in that if I could be anyone else in the world, I would want to be her. I fell for her music as soon as it graced my Spotify account as a teenager and discovering she was my age (her birthday is literally the day before mine...) was incredible. She radiates the kind of qualities I see in myself and so I empathise with her, find common ground and deep satisfaction that she is just as girly as the rest of us. She likes cats, Grey's Anatomy and baking. I want to be her best friend. 

For some, her music is nothing but a pain in their ears. A too-happy, pointless little girl singing about things that don't matter. However, for most, her songs are a constant joy and the truth in them speaks volumes. I certainly envy her ability to take such simple lyrics and make them sound so meticulously put together whilst still retaining that effortless country style. I just about imploded when she finally came together with Tim McGraw for their breathtaking single 'Highway Don't Care'. Lucky girl. Her recent progression into a much more 'pop' sound has been welcomed with open arms. Her popularity continues to soar and she continues to give her listeners something new, something exciting. 

As a self-confessed Swiftie the Urban Dictionary describes me as having a 'beautiful soul' with a 'big heart'. Well that can't be all bad, can it?

(Information correct to my knowledge and sourced from wikipedia.org and taylorswift.com, pictures sourced from google.com - Opinions are all my own.)