The 1989 era was one of transition. In the early 2010s, Taylor Swift went through a metamorphosis in her music style. Starting as a country-girl caterpillar, Taylor emerged a blonde, brazen, beat-dropping butterfly. Track 1, Welcome to New York, launches the listener into an expressive album laced with new sounds and themes of self-discovery. Just as a curious teenage girl might explore the streets and sights of NYC, Taylor Swift dove headfirst into the genre of pop, experimenting with new instruments and sounds. For me, this song represents newfound freedom and self-discovery, both key threads in my journey this past year. 2023 brought more travel than ever in the past few years due to the long-awaited end of the pandemic. As I was hiking, sightseeing, skiing, and swimming, I learned so much about myself and what I will need to make the most daunting transition in my foreseeable future: highschool to college. Post-secondary education is my “New York.” What better song to describe my preparation for the biggest change in my life than the introduction to the biggest change to date in Taylor Swift’s music career? My travels this past year have been completely eye-opening. Each trip taught me what I found important. In January, my friends and I took our yearly skiing vacation. However, this year rather than being confined to the icy and bare slopes of the east coast, we flew to Breckenridge, Colorado. For four days, I lived the dream: skiing powdery peaks at high elevations and walking through the winter wonderland of downtown with my closest friends. I discovered the value of being close to people I love and spending time doing things I love. This spring break, my family drove down to Tampa, Florida for a week I will never forget. Full of sandy beaches and salty waves, the vacation ended with a magical night at the one and only Eras Tour. Added to the collage of my personality are concerts, music, and the beach, which are fundamental to who I am. These new experiences helped not only to make lasting memories, but to build my self-image as I begin the next chapter of my life. With senior year looming, college visits have worked their way into my excursions. While visiting family in the historic town of Plymouth Massachusetts, my parents whisked me away one morning to Cambridge to tour MIT. Even though it was summer, “walking through the crowd, the village” was “aglow.” Students partaking in internships and research projects made the campus feel alive. I could picture myself living, working, and thriving in such an environment. Between this tour and trips to other schools such as UVA and Virginia Tech, thoughts swarmed around my head about the independence I’ll need and the freedom I’ll have after the transition to university. Even though college tends to “keep you guessing,” I believe that my recent campus visits have prepared me for any uncertainty. The recurring themes of self-discovery and independence weaved throughout both Taylor Swift’s pop breakout album and my breakout year are best described in the upbeat and beautifully symbolic song Welcome to New York. The experiences I have endured this past year not only prepare me for my own welcome to New York this coming spring break, but also for post-secondary education. I can’t wait to see what the city and college have in store for me. Rather than overwhelming, those looming years should serve as empowering reminders of my potential. I know my future is bright, but those lights will “never blind me.”

@sophia_phaneuf_

I’ve never experienced love. As a junior in high school, being single is often seen as a bad thing. While people are becoming more accepting of the single lifestyle these days, it’s hard not to feel like an outlier when all of your friends are talking about boys and dating. I’ve had my fair share of crushes, some more intense than others, but, from what I gather, it’s nowhere near the same thing as being head over heels in love with someone. My favorite song on Taylor’s 1989 album is “You Are in Love” off the deluxe version. I chose “You Are in Love” because of its second-person perspective and imagery in the lyrics. In the song, Taylor writes from the second person, referring to the main character as “you.” This allows me, the listener, to feel real, raw love. It’s as if the song is placing me inside itself to experience the ups and downs, highs and lows, and wild rollercoaster of a meant-to-be relationship. This is all done through stunning imagery woven into the lyrics. The first verse references small details in a scene where two people meet and instantly fall for each other. “Buttons on a coat” and “the light reflects/the chain on your neck” are my favorite lines from the first verse. That first night is further explained, as the artist writes of a late-night drive where two souls connect on such a level that one touch is enough to convince her that she is in love. While the lyrics of the chorus are more repetitive than the verse, they still reflect the relationship in such a beautiful way by juxtaposing two opposite ideas. Swift sings “you can hear it in the silence” and “you can see it with the lights out” to show how multidimensional relationships are. True love isn’t something you hear or see. It’s something you feel. These lyrics were the perfect way to help me empathize with the song. In the second verse, we transition back into the real world, as the lyrics sing about the relationship further down the road. This part means so much to me. I have based my standards for a relationship on this verse. The line that resonates the most is “pauses then says/you’re my best friend/and you knew what it was/he is in love.” I want to marry my best friend. I want someone I can make pillow forts, bake cupcakes, shoot Nerf guns, and play volleyball with. To me, the qualities of a best friend are also very important in a romantic partner, and the lyrics of this part of the song reflect that perfectly. As the queen of bridges, Taylor does not disappoint here. She describes how the main character feels love so strongly that she understands why “I’ve spent my whole life trying to put it into words.” This line holds the only first-person pronoun of the song. It talks about how the author (Taylor Swift) has tried relentlessly to explain what true love is. I think this is so powerful because it encapsulates the entire song in just eleven words. This song is Taylor’s depiction of love and all its corresponding emotions. After tying it all together with another chorus, one can deeply understand and relate to the story of this song and why I think “You Are in Love” is the best song on 1989 Deluxe. It has incredible lyrics and a significant meaning that helps me escape real life and feel what I can only imagine: true, true love.