This may seem silly to some. An ode to a pop culture princess, whom I have never met. Typically, an ode is dedicated to a parent, grandparent, teacher, coach or maybe even a close friend. However, through the years of idolizing Taylor Swift for all that she has taught me, an ode to her only seems appropriate. 

If you asked elementary school Olivia, “Who is Taylor Swift?” you would without a doubt receive an earful of information. She would most likely show you her CD collection (which she was very proud of), her closet door full of posters, a never ending supply of calendars, hangers of t-shirts and her purple mini bottle of Wonderstruck perfume, which she was too scared to use in fear of it running out. But what she wouldn’t show you are the hours she would spend attempting to convince her dad to take her to a concert or the hairbrush she used to perform her sold out concerts. 

Elementary school me definitely could not relate to half of the heartbreak and boy dedicated songs produced by the amiable Swift, but that was no reason to not memorize every single lyric of every single song. To me, she wasn’t a boy crazy snake the media liked to describe her as, she was my role model, who stood up for herself, was powerful in everything she did, kindhearted to all she met and of course, had curly hair similar to mine (which was substantial to my third grade self esteem). As a shy and anxious girl, she was the outlet I needed to break me out of my shell. 

Recently, Swift released her rerecording of her 2012 album “Red.” The new album, “Red(Taylor’s Version),” features the same songs from the original recording, with a few additional songs that are “From The Vault.” Leading up to the release, my friends and I would go on and on with excitement about the album, just like little kids again. And on the day the album finally hit Spotify, I was filled with the same giddy feeling that I felt in elementary school while listening to the same tracks on my CD player in my childhood room. Each song flowed through the air, giving me the familiar feeling of nostalgia, but this time, I could relate to the lyrics she had crafted better than my third grade self could.

Still, to this day, I find myself looking up to Swift and following along in awe in each post she makes, song she drops or album she releases. Without Swift, younger me would never have had such an honest and transparent figure to idolize in a society where social media was growing to be all the excitement. She gave me, and many other girls, a mature, intelligent and successful role model, all while teaching valuable life lessons through the intricate lyrics of her songs. Thus my silly ode to Swift, simple and sweet, but meaningful as all through the eyes of a susceptible teenage girl.