On being a Taylor Swift fan, being Fearless and celebrating 1989. It's #TS1989 day and I've been waiting a hella long time to begin my Taylor Swift takeover on Daisybutter. From today - the release date of her 6th album, 1989 - to Taylor's 25th birthday on December 13th, I'll be running themed Taylor blog posts at 13:00. Don't lie, you're excited.
I remember when Fearless was released. It was possibly one of the highlights of my college days. I remember feeling uncertain about friendships (i.e. about 95% of mine ditched me when I went to college and them to sixth form) and I also remember becoming firm friends with my girl Natasha who also adored Taylor. And I remember feeling so empowered by Taylor's little notes on being 'fearless':
'To me, Fearless is not the absence of fear. To me, Fearless is having fears. Fearless is having doubts. Lots of them. Fearless is getting back up and fighting for what you want over and over again… even though every time you’ve tried before, you’ve lost. It’s Fearless to have faith that someday things will change. Fearless is having the courage to say goodbye to someone who only hurts you, even if you can’t breathe without them. And when someone apologises to you enough times for things they’ll never stop doing, I think it’s Fearless to stop believing them.' - Taylor SwiftFearless, to me, means taking complete charge of your life again. It's having confidence in the things you do, small or big. It's about being so shy that the idea of speaking to a sales assistant on your own feels alien to you, but then five years later you find yourself conquering your shyness by speaking your mind even when you still feel shaky inside. Fearless is having fears but going ahead and doing it anyway. Easier said than done, right? But it's also about believing that someday you can be completely fearless in a world that loves throwing all sorts of #CRAY at you.
Every time I hear Fearless or a song from the album, I remember 2007 and how timid I was. I was a mouse. A tiny mouse who thought she liked words, no, loved words, but had no idea what to do with that thought. I remember meeting best best friends, I remember realising that I could become a "writer" one day and sell my words if I tried hard enough and believed I could. I remember going on a first date with someone and genuinely 'trying not to get caught up now'. I remember thinking how things couldn't get much better than this (also in my best dress). I remember the first time I saw Taylor Swift live on the Fearless tour, and then again on the same tour.
"Capture it, remember it."
What does Fearless mean to you?
