From being an awkward pre-teen to now I have experienced a multitude of changes, but one single thing that has yet to change is the fact that there is always a Taylor Swift song I can jam out to. My heart skips a beat when my phone shuffles to a song from her Fearless album, specifically the song Fifteen. As the lyrics “You take a deep breath” spills out of my car speakers, before I can move my hand from the steering wheel to the volume, my friends have already done so and are screaming the lyrics in my ear. The song holds so much truth about the thoughts I had at fifteen and the struggles basically every girl faces in high school. If you have been living under a rock and have yet to hear this masterpiece then, as Taylor best put it, count to ten, take it in.

I personally can relate to a redhead named Abigail and all of her boy struggles. Nothing makes a freshman girl feel more superior than getting hit on by the beautiful senior boys, nothing. However, as she specifically speaks of in the song, high school boys will break your vulnerable, juvenile little heart, and when they do it feels like the whole world is coming down on you. Looking back now, my freshman year was a blur, a blur filled with wearing too much (poorly done) makeup, overthinking everything, and crying over dumb boys. Luckily, I had about 7 “Abigail's” to have my back through it all and have also laughed about the other girls who “think they’re so cool”. My best friends are what have made these four years so memorable, when I look back on high school I will not think of the boy who called me pretty that one day, or the boy who never texted me back. All I will be able to remember is the laughs, the tears, the secrets, and the memories we made.

When “all I wanted was to be wanted” took over my life, I do honestly wish that I could go back and tell myself what I know now, specifically to tell myself to not invest my time and heart into people who were not worthy of it. Luckily, I didn’t have to receive my diploma to realize that I will do things greater than dating a boy on the football team. If only I knew that at fifteen.

Just like Taylor, I swore I was going to marry him someday, and I too realized some bigger dreams of mine. I realized that high school isn’t about the relationships you were in, it’s about the relationships you make. So, to any girl, of any age, when a boy tells you he loves you, you’re going to believe him, just make sure you love yourself more. With all of that being said and as all of the nostalgia sets in, thank you Taylor Swift.