'folklore'

This one may be obvious, but honestly, I didn't really like 'folklore' when it came out. Now, I love it and listen to it more than I did when it first came out. I was in LOVE with 'Lover' and wasn't ready for 'folklore' and all its glory.

I was just getting into 'folklore' when the next reason happened.

'evermore' and its surprise release

When I say this was the best way to end my first full-time semester of college, I mean it.

I woke up the day I had to turn in my last final to Taylor Swift trending on Twitter, with the news of another surprise album. I was so excited! How it was released meant it would be released at 11 where I live, so I turned in my last final at 11:01 and then spent the rest of my night listening to this album.

I love this album more than I love 'folklore'. It just has so many great songs on it that I loved from the moment I listened to them.

Long pond studio sessions

To be honest, I didn't watch these until I started writing this article. But I love them. I love hearing how she came up with all of the songs on 'folklore' and it helps me appreciate them more. I already found a song or two that I had originally overlooked but I want to go back and listen to it again.

If you don't know where to find these, they are on Disney+.

Literally her entire discography 

Her entire discography brings me joy. She has been my top artist on Spotify for at least three years. I've been a fan since her "Tim McGraw" and "Picture to Burn" days. Throughout this year, one artist has been there with her entire discography no matter what I want to listen to, and that was Taylor Swift.

'betty' performance at the ACMs

This was the first time she had performed at the ACMs since her country days, seven years to be exact. It was the first time she had performed a song from 'folklore' live due to the pandemic. This is one of my favorite songs from the 'folklore' album. Listening to it live just brings me more joy.

The passing-out of the cardigans

When Taylor Swift released 'folklore', she also gave out cardigans to some celebrities and close friends to celebrate the album.

Some of these people include Kesha, Ciara, Kelsea Ballerini, and so many more. She also sent one to Kobe Bryant's daughter, Natalia. This was such a thoughtful gesture that brought joy to so many during such a crazy year.

Emily Kelley

This girl, has brought me SO much joy. She lost her job during the pandemic and started drawing. She decided to draw Taylor Swift's entire discography, one song a day. I love it and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with every day. Most of the time, she makes me see the song in a new light. I can't wait to buy some of her work, as Taylor Swift is my favorite and she is doing such an amazing job.

If you want to check out some of her work on Etsy or TikTok, I highly recommend it!

'Miss Americana'

'Miss Americana' was released on Netflix early this year.

It is about Taylor and her history and the silent struggles she has gone through. I watched while writing this article and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. She just explains everything she has gone through and how it affected her. It also shows how she got to a point where she could be comfortable speaking up for herself and things she believed in.

The news of her re-recording all of her old songs

If you didn't know, Taylor is rerecording most of her old songs. This started because the record label that Taylor originally signed with, Big Machine, sold all of her originals of her first five albums to Scooter Braun.

Scooter has recently sold them to another company, Shamrock Holdings. But she can rerecord them and own the masters to those tracks. This could happen starting in November of this year. She has recently said that rerecording these tracks has been, "...exciting and creatively fulfilling...". I personally cannot wait for her to release these.

'Love Story' teaser

While she hasn't finished rerecording her old songs, Ryan Reynolds, someone she has been friends with for a while, reached out and asked if he could use one of the rerecorded songs for a commercial. She gave him a snippet of 'Love Story'.

This version just sounds more mature because she has grown so much since the original releasing of 'Love Story', and it makes me so excited for her to release more of her old songs.

Her fanbase

This year, I have seen more of her fanbase than I have in the past, and I loved it. They are so nice and welcoming. They are also funny and work together on things.

They also come up with conspiracy theories such as Taylor and Harry Styles committing vehicular manslaughter - odd, right?

Her fanbase has made my 2020 better and I know we have for other people too.

Taylor's exchange with Rainn Wilson, and everything that followed

On December 11th, Spin shared their review on Twitter that said 'evermore' was "an undeniable folk-pop masterpiece".

Taylor Swift responded with a GIF of Rainn Wilson on "The Office" crying saying thank you. 'The Office' Twitter page responded with a GIF of Wilson bowing and celebrating. Wilson responded to Taylor's tweet by saying, "I do not know who this is. Inventor of the Swiffer?".

I just find this hysterical. I think it is a joke but also just who Rainn Wilson is as a person and who he played as Dwight Schrute. Taylor replied with a GIF of John Krasinski, who played Jim Halpert on 'The Office' and was Dwight's "enemy" saying "Touché".

This whole exchange just made me laugh and I know several others did too.

Honestly, just for being herself

Taylor Swift is just an amazing human being. She has worked so hard in a year that was hard for everyone and put out two amazing albums. When everyone else was staying in their houses, she was working so hard to bring everyone else so much joy and was the best part of 2020.