I know you may be thinking, "Ugh, not another article about Taylor Swift, I hate her". But here you are about to read it anyway.

And here I am ready to shed a little light on an issue I think is very important–and yes, it involves Taylor Swift.

We live in a society today where the norm is to pick a successful celebrity that has been deemed the victim in a sick trap in order to criticize every single little thing they do. The celebrity, nowadays, that is the epitome of this is Taylor Swift. It is generally the norm to hate her and it is seen as shameful if you do like her or are a fan of hers. She has been ridiculed for almost everything under the sun, including–but not limited to–being called a snake by probably almost the entire U.S. population, being called fake and an attention seeker, saying she can't sing or dance, and some people have the stupidity and audacity to call Swift a talentless songwriter when clearly that isn't true. Swift is obviously aware of this general hate directed towards her. This is apparent with the lyrics, "Reputation precedes me, they told you I'm crazy" and "I swear I don't love the drama, it loves me"–both from her new song with Ed Sheeran and Future called "End Game".

I constantly see everywhere I look on social media a negative stigma surrounding Swift. From the "name a bitch badder than Taylor Swift" memes that aimed to belittle Swift and her achievements and make them seem less than others to criticizing her role on the cover of Time magazine's Person of the Year issue and deeming that she only revealed her story of sexual harassment for attention.

All of these things I see people say about her deeply saddens me as a fan of hers. I feel as though years ago anyone was able to say they were a fan of Swift without being ridiculed against and judged. But now as a fellow Swiftie, I am made to feel ashamed for liking such a "snake" of a human.

Yet, I would personally like to be given a genuine reason for disliking her. I don't even think Kim Kardashian or Kanye West can give a valid reason for starting that endless brutal feud with Taylor, besides the fact that they probably only care about the drama of it all. People still hate her because everyone tends to follow trends in what the media says. Cause of course we know everything on the internet is true, right? But in all honesty, people like a story and generally aren't willing to see past the lies in order to find the truth. There's a reason why Swift wrote the lyrics, "All the liars are calling me one" in her song entitled "Call It What You Want" from her most recent album Reputation.

So, here I am, ready to shed some of that light on Taylor that needs to be shed. And, then maybe I might convince you Taylor Swift really isn't the devil in reincarnation that some people claim her to be.

Taylor Swift has been in hiding for the past couple of years partly because she was writing her sixth studio album but also because she needed a break from everyone, more specifically the media. And even when she released Reputation, she didn't do any extensive promo for it, letting the music speak for itself. And it was still the best selling album of 2017, selling over one million physical copies.

Taylor Swift has been branded as only being successful as a businesswoman and money maker. Yes, she is a great businesswoman and she knows her stuff. I mean she's been in the game for over ten years. But, she is talented nonetheless. And it is her talent and iconic songwriting that makes her successful. Believe it or not, people like her and will root for her.

And her fan base is way larger and more diverse than people might think originally. It is not just made up of young white girls. I mean, heck, she once visited an older man who is a fan and has gone to fans' weddings and performed for them. So money isn't all she cares about. Far from it. But being a good businesswoman in the music industry should be applauded and not looked down upon. People might say that others have made her successful, and she doesn't deserve the success she gets because she "buys" it. Reputation was such a successful and great album because Taylor's heart is in songwriting and making lyrics people can relate to, not only because she is a great "businesswoman".

Many people, including myself, loved the album and found it to be genius because I, as a fan, know mostly where she was coming from when writing this album. But, many people said it "wasn't her". Well, why do you think Taylor uttered the already famous words "The old Taylor can't come to the phone right now... because she's dead"? What Swift is so good at is reinventing herself and changing things up for every album she's done. This most recent album is a completely different sound coming from Swift. You could say it is a more "grown-up" sound, contrary to her sweet American girl strumming a guitar reputation. But Swift is 28 years old and has grown as a person. It isn't just teenage love stories anymore. Swift has gone through a lot with her reputation, so obviously she is coming from a more mature perspective now. Not to say she doesn't still have some of that old country twang in her, but all I'm saying is that people change. Some people might not respect as an artist grows and evolves as a singer, songwriter, and musician because they have this idea in their mind of who someone should be and they aren't allowed to deviate from that. It's a natural process that Swift shouldn't be condemned for when almost every other artist does the same when creating new songs.

It is also clear from her new album that Swift has been feeling broken and vulnerable as she watched her reputation collapse right before her eyes. From lyrics like "My reputation's never been worse, so you must like me for me" from "Delicate" to "My castle crumbled overnight... they took the crown but it's alright" from "Call It What You Want", it's no wonder Taylor didn't come out of the shadows for so long. She probably felt broken and exhausted and confused when it seemed like the whole world turned on her.

Taylor has been publically criticized as a "white feminist" and for not using her platform to speak about important political issues. This stems from the fact that as a person of enormous status, even as a musician with no formal political background, it is apparently your duty to speak up about important issues of political nature through the use of social media and hashtags. I am in no means saying that people shouldn't do this as I think it is extremely important. Notable artists like Halsey and Lady Gaga choose to speak up about certain issues. But the key is that they choose to do so. Any artist shouldn't feel obligated to speak up about controversial or debatable problems in the world. I mean Taylor's job is to write songs and perform them, not to be a political activist. Now if one day she chooses to take to social media and post her thoughts on these issues, then good for her. But the point is she shouldn't feel obligated to.

On the other hand, while Swift chooses not to speak up about matters in a public light, she has done multiple notable things behind the lens of a camera or the pen of a reporter. One major thing that actually got a lot of attention was when Swift countersued for a symbolic $1 against the DJ that sexually assaulted her in one of her meet and greets a few years ago. Swift got a lot of backlash for being on the cover of Time magazine's Person of the Year issue along with Isabel Pascual, Adama Iwu, Ashley Judd, and Susan Fowler who spoke up about their story of sexual assault and are figureheads of the #MeToo movement. People said that she was just using the platform to get attention or seek more money all while belittling her story with sexual assault and saying that she didn't deserve to be on the cover because it is somehow less important than the other women's stories.

This just proves that it is a valid fear for women to come out about their experience with sexual harassment or assault. First of all, no one should get bullied for sharing their story no matter how small it may seem. Cause that is what it is: bullying. Take it or leave it, but it's true. Yet, with Swift's jury case, the use of The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network hotline increased by 35% the following weekend after the case. Additionally, Swift provided $250,000 in financial aid to Kesha during her trial against her former producer and sexual assaulter. Swift did this without the attention of the media and through the kindness of her own heart. Lastly, Swift on many occasions has donated significant amounts of money to various people and organizations anonymously without the attention of the media. So, while you can say that Swift doesn't use her platform to make a difference publically, she obviously has privately through her impactful sexual assault case and helping other people in various situations. Swift's big heart and continuous compassion means more than anything people might say about her.

One of the things that should be known about Taylor is that she is the most caring for her fans. She is known to "lurk" people on Tumblr, Instagram, or Twitter. And when it came around to the months prior before her Reputation album release, she did just that in order to pick hundreds of lucky fans to invite to one of her houses for her Secret Sessions, where fans listen to the album early with Taylor herself in one of her own homes. Basically a giant party for both Swifties and Taylor. Swift has done this previously with some of her prior albums as well. Swift even surprised a young girl from England by showing up at her house, unbeknownst to the fan, and said that she found her through social media and wanted to pay her a visit.

Oftentimes, Swift does things for her fans without any media attention. There was a fan who was pregnant and happened to lose everything and was homeless for a while. While attending one of Swift's shows, the fan's mother told Taylor to make her daughter feel special, and she did just that. After the concert, Taylor took this fan backstage and said that she wanted to buy this fan a home and everything for her baby. Swift said that she wanted the fan to be able to enjoy her baby and not have to worry or be burdened about any of the bad things that previously occurred in this fan's life.

So Taylor was able to help this woman and her family with her sheer kindness and selfless attitude.

Swift even hand-writes letters to fans and sneaks fans backstage to meet her even if it's not allowed. As if that wasn't enough, an excited Taylor visited a Target, as documented on her Instagram story, after her album Reputation came out and met fans. She didn't have to do that by any means, but she took time out of her day to speak directly to fans and take pictures with them. So, consequently, you can't deny Taylor Swift is the sweetest to her all of her fans. In her song "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things", blatantly written about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, she references her fans in the lyrics, "here's a toast to my real friends, they don't care about the he said, she said". The "real friends" Swift mentions is a shoutout to all the Swifties that stuck it out through all of Taylor's tough times, remained loyal through all of the ups and downs, and couldn't care less about all the senseless media-driven drama and feuds Taylor was unwillingly forced into. So, go ahead and say that all Taylor Swift cares about is fame and attention. But when you read all of this evidence against that assumption, you'd be delusional to say otherwise.

One of Taylor's best friends, Todrick Hall (Youtuber, singer, actor, and dancer), has said on multiple occasions that Swift is one of the nicest people he has met. He has said that whenever Swift has friends over, she is basically the mom friend who tries to make people feel as comfortable as possible. Hall also was with her during the time when Swift was receiving the most backlash. Hall said she was deeply affected by the media, and you could see on Taylor's face that she wasn't okay. This is why I'm glad that Taylor took a break from the public eye. Some lyrics in her newest songs give voice to how her time off has made her a better person. She states in "Call It What You Want" (one of her most lyrically vulnerable songs off of her new album), "All my flowers grew back as thorns" in addition to "Nobody's heard from me for months, I'm doing better than I ever was". It is abundantly clear that Swift needed to shy away from the limelight in order to better herself. Nevertheless, no one should be bullied into feeling ashamed of themselves or somehow less of a person, whether we're talking about a celebrity like Swift, or a typical person.

So, to conclude this extremely long composition about Taylor Swift, our society today needs to change our perspective on celebrities and how we treat them because they are people too just like us. We live in a culture where it's "cool" to just dehumanize a person and hate on a celebrity based on what the media says. It's kind of like years ago it was a "trend" to hate Justin Bieber. Well, now the public has claimed that it is Taylor Swift's turn.

As explained extensively above, she has been ridiculed and criticized for basically everything she does and for who she is as a person especially these last few years. Taylor referenced the Salem witch trials in her song "I Did Something Bad" by saying, "They're burning all the witches, even if you aren't one". But, immediately followed that lyrics with the bold statement, "So light me up". So Taylor, like the "witches", is metaphorically being burned for literally no reason at all. Yet, in the second lyric, she accepts this fate and is willing to be "burned" because she has learned to not be affected by it.

This type of "burning" and condemning celebrities needs to stop, not just with Taylor, but with all people who find themselves on the wrong side of the hate wagon. I don't find any of the memes of Taylor poking fun at her funny at all. It's actually very saddening seeing someone who deserves all their success. Yet is belligerently torn down again and again as a victim in society's cycle of "who are we gonna bring down next?" How can you say you like Swift's songs but then go trash her online and say shit because it's "cool". I get it if you don't like her as a person or aren't the biggest fan of hers. We all have artists we might not like as a person, but we love their music. But, to deliberately bash Swift just because of her affluence and success as a female artist is completely wrong and, quite frankly, foul and repulsive. What happened to "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all?" I mean, it's sort of hypocritical to preach on how we should all celebrate a woman's successes when you're typing out a nasty comment about Taylor Swift on Twitter to get retweets and likes. Why bring women down when you can bring them up? Ultimately, this is a part of a bigger issue involving fan culture and how we view celebrities. As a fan of Swift, I shouldn't be made to feel guilty, embarrassed, or apologetic for liking her or anyone for that manner who is seen in a negative light.

So, to bring this piece to an end, stop dragging and shaming Taylor Swift because it is "cool". No one deserves it, and there are other things in the world that are more important than what Taylor did or did not say. Let me love who I want to love without being degraded or ashamed cause, at the end of the day, you're just a bad person if you can't find it in your heart to let others be proud of who they are fans of.