As the lights in Lincoln Financial Field went dark, a roar of excitement stirred among the crowd. Throughout the stands, fans of all ages stood in anticipation, holding up "I Love T.S." signs and wearing outfits meant to replicate their favorite Taylor Swift eras. On the screens, there was a flash of green and glimpse of scales as a snake slithered across the display. 'Snake' is a name that many naysayers have used to describe Taylor Swift over these past few years amid her highly public feud with Kanye West, but it's also an image that she has reclaimed and used to her advantage. Even though Swift herself admits in one of the songs off her Reputation album that her reputation's "never been worse", it clearly hasn't had a negative effect on her fanbase. When Swift finally emerged, red lips forming a satisfied smile and body clad in a sparkly black bodysuit, 50,000 cheers were heard around the stadium – mine among them.
I have been a fan of Taylor Swift since her self-titled debut album came out in 2006. I was 7 at the time. As weird as it sounds, I always felt like I knew her, even though she was famous. In her lyrics, Swift poured her soul out and I hung desperately onto every word. In my most formative years she was the person I looked to for guidance and support. Her sweet smile, devotion to her fanbase and genuine thankfulness for her successes made her stand out to me among the pop music scene – to my young self, she wasn't just another singer. She was different. She was an idol. And she was a friend.
That's why I never questioned my devotion even after the "Famous" debacle with Kanye West. When West's wife Kim Kardashian released a phone call between West and Swift in which West read off some (but not all) of his controversial lyrics about Swift, the media wasted no time in crucifying Swift, accusing her of manipulating the situation in order to keep her good girl image intact. Truthfully, I never understood where they were coming from – how was it that he called her a bitch and took credit for her fame, yet she was the snake? Swift had spent years working for everything she had and made a conscious effort to befriend West after that infamous VMAs incident, and now people were tearing her down for being rightfully offended. To me, it all seemed so inflammatory and – frankly – misogynistic.
Yet, the media firestorm seemed to slide off Swift's back. If people were going to insist on calling her a snake, then she was going to take the name and turn it into a brand. Her long-anticipated Reputation album was more mature, sexier, and more brutally honest than her previous bodies of work. When it came time for the tour, snakes littered the stages, the promotional posters and the merchandise. In the stands the night of her first Philadelphia show, fans who ranged from elementary schoolers to twenty-somethings incorporated the motif as part of their ensembles. Swift had shown her fans that it wasn't what people felt about you that mattered – it was how you felt about yourself.
In her single "Look What You Made Me Do", Swift sings that the old Taylor is dead, but I think that can't be farther from the truth. Sitting in the stands at her Philadelphia show, I saw Swift as the exact same person I idolized as a child. She started off her show by talking about her Pennsylvania roots (she was born in Wyomissing) and how she specifically chose this date – Friday the 13th – for her homecoming show. While others fear the connotations of thirteen, it's actually Swift's favorite number. She said she was proud to be from Pennsylvania and wanted to give the best show she could for all of the fans back here who supported her over the years. For her B-stage surprise song, she played one of her older songs – "Never Grow Up", from her Speak Now album – and dedicated it to the little girl who now lives in her childhood home. Even before the show, as the monitors cycled through footage, we watched as Swift greeted some of her biggest fans at an invite-only Secret Sessions she'd held at her home. She walked up to them and greeted them by name, much to their shock and awe. In these actions, I saw the same characteristics that made me fall in love with Swift to begin with: a kind heart and a deep appreciation for all she had.
No, the old Taylor Swift is definitely not dead. She's very much alive – and doing better than she ever was.
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