@madison_19_23_1_14

Taylor Swift has helped give me hope for my generation and also for myself. Gen Z became very isolated during the Pandemic and that same isolation never fully went away. At events, I would always see people my age alone on their phones or struggling to connect in conversation, and to be honest I was isolated as well. Most of my friends were the same ones I had since elementary school and I never tried super hard to make new friends. To my surprise, during the Eras Tour there was a huge improvement. Wearing friendship bracelets from the tour helped many people find others to connect with because they discovered how much they had in common so they were talking more. Witnessing a lot of moments of new friendships inspired me to try to reach out more. I was able to bond with Swifties, and even people who aren't huge fans, over how amazing and large-scale the Eras Tour was. Often pop culture is focused on negativity and scandals, but the Eras Tour was something positive that got everyone talking. It was so huge and unlike anything that was done before, but I never expected the way the Tour would bring people together. Although I didn't get tickets to the tour, I have so many new memories of singing Taylor's songs with people who I would have never expected to connect with. My friends and I would put Taylor's music on our Youth Group's speakers so that we could sing and dance with anyone who wanted to join. At first I was not that excited to dance to Taylor Swift at my youth group, but people got really into it which made me less embarrassed and able to have more fun. I also had a lot of car rides (with Taylor Swift blasting) where I met friends of friends who I would have never guessed I would have such fun times with. All these small stories go to show that music can really bring people together and our society needs that. I've been very shy all my life and I honestly would have never thought I would be meeting new people because of Taylor Swift. It's easy for me to just stay in my shell with the same people I've always known but I realized that I need to put myself out there and sometimes that means screaming to Taylor Swift.

My favorite thing about Disney is their show "The Owl House" due to the positive impact it has had on my life. The show's main character is a girl named Luz who ends up in a magical land after feeling abnormal compared to the rest of society. The audience gets to see her raw emotions and difficulty growing up. As the show goes on we see that Luz happens to be bi and she also meets many other LGBTQ+ characters, which is rare for modern media. Luz's story has been a wonderful distraction through the stress of high school and seeing her feel outcasted from the human world makes me feel seen. For any high schooler, it can be hard to find a feeling of belonging but it was extra difficult for me because I was doing online school during most of the pandemic. Many of my friends had gone back to in-person school but I sat at home watching them make new friends without me. Seeing Luz find a place where she finally fit in gave me hope and also encouraged me to make an effort to connect with people once I finally restarted in-person school. Funnily enough, Owl House is something that many of my new friends and I have been able to bond over. Additionally, the show's LGBTQ+ representation helped me come to terms with who I am. One of the characters, Lilith, is asexual, and her appearance on the show was the first time I had ever seen myself in media. Although we are different in terms of our romantic orientation, it was amazing to get to see someone who has the same sexuality as me. I love how the show fully develops her character and shows that she lives a happy and full life. Many shows with LGBTQ+ representation keep it very surface level and don't give characters many traits other than their orientation, but all of the Owl House's characters are complex and interesting. The Owl House has inspired me to write my own fantasy story and rewatching it always motivates me to write. I'm planning to major in Creative Writing to help me gain the skills I need to make my stories better. I want my book to be an escape for all people after a long day and I also want to make LGBTQ+ feel seen by my work. I know that being an author likely won't be my full-time job, but I'm still inspired to keep stories and creativity as a large part of my future.