(Still) In My Swiftie Era

 Warning - sappy post ahead!

At the beginning of June, I was able to go see Taylor Swift in concert at The Eras Tour.  It was SO. MUCH. FUN.

I have been a Taylor Swift fan for most of her career, and since she is my age, I have grown up with her music.  Actually, one of my good friends from college has the exact same birthday as her, and he hates her because he says she reminds her of everything he could be and isn't.  (For the record, he is a successful oncologist.)  Another college friend wrote her thesis on Harry Potter and how no other generation will ever experience it like ours (those of us who are ~33) because we were the same age as Harry every time a new book was released.  That's how I feel about Taylor Swift - in spite of the fact that her "college years" and life experiences were widely differently than mine.  (But hey - her younger brother went to Notre Dame so we both have a taste for the cult that is ND.)

I've been to every concert of hers since Red with the same friend, and saw Reputation twice.  For my bachelorette party, I made everyone watch the Reputation tour on Netflix and dress up like Taylor Swift for a party bus / limo ride.  And it was epic.

The Eras Tour buildup started with the ticket buying process.  I was one of the lucky ones whose friend was able to get in and buy tickets, so we got great tickets at face value.  We then had the long buildup to the concert.  I was watching snippets of the show on TikTok, tracking her secret songs and wondering what ours would be.  I was planning my outfit, including buying rhinestone boots and ordering custom "bitch pack" bracelets for our group.

The weekend of the concert, we went to a Two Friends show the night before, and I drove to the concert and didn't drink because I didn't want to risk ruining my experience the next night.

Two of my best friends traveled into town for the concert, and we got ready at my sister's.  I forced my bestie to make a TikTok with me (and it turned out amazing, if I do say so myself lol)

One of my other best friends - the ticket purchaser! - just had a baby, and wasn't sure if she was going to be able to make it to the concert.  As I am also grappling with life as a mom, if I can do all the things I used to do, and what does that mean about my identity, I got emotional thinking about whether or not she'd be able to attend, and was so excited when she did!

And the concert was amazing, with all of the feels!  And I let go and LET myself have all of the feels.  Taylor is an amazing performer, and it was so fun to hear and scream all my favorite songs live.  Taylor came on, and I started crying because I was so excited it started.  One of my most anticipated songs for the concert was Cruel Summer, which was the 2nd song of the set, and it was amazing to hear the whole crowd scream:  I LOVE YOU, AIN'T THAT THE WORST THING YOU'VE EVER HEARD?!  I got emotional thinking about all of Taylor's eras, and in turn all of my eras.  When the secret songs came on, I started screaming out of pure excitement.  My friend asked me, "What's she about to sing?!" and I said, "I don't know but I'm so excited!!"  How many times in our life do we get to have moments of pure, unadulterated moments to express all of our emotions?  We need more.

I've enjoyed seeing a few reviews lately come out applauding Taylor for her talent and the impact she has made rather than lean into her reputation as a silly, overly emotional girl, so I'll share them here for you to read as well:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/17/opinion/taylor-swift-mental-health.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/15/arts/music/taylor-swift-all-too-well.html