My first time with Taylor

With venues like the Pepsi Center and Red Rocks in Denver, I never had to worry about whether or not my favorite artist would stop by on tour. I went to my first concert at 10-years-old, when my mom took me to see Taylor Swift.

To be honest, I was never a big fan of T-Swizzle. I would sing-a-long to her debut album when I was with my friends and hope that no one would notice that I only knew a few of the words.

That changed after my mom told me that she bought us tickets to Taylor Swift’s Fearless Tour. I was grateful to be able to attend my first concert and sing and dance with my friends, regardless of the fact that country was so not my thing. I threw myself into her music, playing Taylor Swift and Fearless on repeat.

I will admit, I did learn to love her music. I was in elementary school and still played with Barbie’s and watched Disney Princess movies. So, it was easy for me to fall in love with this country artist that looked like Barbie and sang like a Disney Princess.

She was this picture perfect icon live, too.

Gloriana, a band I had never listened to before or after, opened. After Gloriana came Kellie Pickler. I could not tell you a single thing about Kellie Pickler other than that she was another blonde country girl.

I could tell you about when Taylor showed up, though. I remember sitting in the dark, butterflies in my stomach. It was the calm before the storm and I could feel it.

I think it was that feeling that kept me coming back for more and would later lead me to become a fan girl in middle school.

From where I sat, Taylor was an ant on stage. She appeared on stage in a marching band costume, reminiscent of the one she wore in the “You Belong With Me” video. Dancers dressed like cheerleaders were scattered across the stage. The stage was made up of screens sometimes used to get a close-up of Taylor and sometimes used to set the scene. For “You Belong With Me,” the screens transformed the stage into a high school.

The concert was theatrical like that. It was costume change after costume change. For “Love Story,” Taylor appeared on stage in a renaissance dress and the screens transformed the stage into a castle complete with Rapunzel like towers and ivy.

I think that “Love Story” will always be my favorite Taylor Swift song. I was floored when Swift sang “‘It’s a love story, baby just say yes,’” before I knew what love was.

Just as the song switched from Romeo and Juliet to a marriage proposal, Swift switched from a renaissance dress to a white dress. Suddenly, the stage was made up of stained glass.

As magical as this was for me, it was the end of the concert that really stuck with me, even today. Taylor, now dressed in all black, sang “Should’ve Said No” with power. She screamed “You should’ve said no, baby and you might still have me,” as rain fell from the ceiling of the arena. Her red lipstick washed away and her blonde mane was ruined. Gone was the damsel in distress. Now, Taylor was a bad bitch.

My friends and I went home that night wearing our new Taylor Swift merch and recounting every last detail, like seeing her lucky number 13 drawn in sharpie on the back of her hand.

Today, when I listen to Kanye West and artists alike, I sometimes think back to my Taylor Swift phase. It was about a year after one of the most infamous moments in music history, when West stopped Swift in the middle of her acceptance speech to let the world know that Beyoncé should have won.

Kanye was right. The “You Belong With Me” video paled in comparison to the “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” video. But, when you are surrounded by fourth grade fan girls, you pick a side quick. So, there was a brief moment in time where I was anti-Kanye. I say brief because I could not resist listening to “Gold Digger” on my iPod shuffle.

I sometimes wonder about how fourth-grade me would feel about today me. After The Life of Pablo dropped, I would sing-a-long when I was with my friends and notice when they only knew a few of the words.

Life is so full circle. One minute you’re at a Taylor Swift concert with your mom and the next you’re at a high school party listening to Kanye rap “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex.”

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