Growing up with Taylor Swift

The new Netflix documentary, “Miss Americana,” gives fans another chance to take life’s next step with Swift.

I can distinctly remember being around 11 years old and sitting at my kitchen counter with my dad on a Saturday morning. With my lime-green iPod nano plugged into his computer, I had to have his help (and credit card) to download two songs from iTunes: “Love Story” and “You Belong with Me” both by Taylor Swift. 

As a pre-teen girl, these two songs managed to capture all the giddy, excitement and end-of-the-world emotions that come with those first true, innocent crushes. And it was here I, and millions of others, began our journey of growing up with Swift herself. 

Swift, the ten-time Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter, is nine years older than me. With this age gap, I wasn’t always in the same phases of life as Swift, which for most of the time transformed her into more of an older sister figure. And like any big sister, she got to experience everything first. First love. First heartbreaks. First betrayal by a friend. And, as a big sister, Swift handed her wisdom down to me: through music. 

Swift’s undeniable songwriting talent and storytelling that has always been her strength. From the start of her career, her vulnerable and relatable writing that welcomed her fans to come alongside her as she ventured from a nervous, hopeful teenager to a confident, self-assured woman. 

In Netflix’s newest documentary, “Miss Americana,” viewers are taken through a timeline of Swift’s rise to fame sprinkled with interviews and home-videos; celebrity documentary staples. But, in one of Swift’s interviews a particular line that stuck with me. As she explains the relationship she has with her fans she says, “There is an element to my fan base where we feel like we grew up together.” 

Swift understands the influence and role-model status she holds over millions. Fans and the public have seen how she handles heartbreak, feuds with other celebrity “friends” and numerous other controversies. And, as she’s continued to mature and move further into adulthood, the world has watched her tackle a new set of issues including her sexual assault trial, politics and even what her beliefs are. 

Speaking more about her fans, Swift comments, “I’ll be going through something, write the album about it, and then it’ll come out, and sometimes it’ll just coincide with what they’re going through. Kind of like they’re reading my diary.” 

I’ll admit, while watching the documentary it’s hard not to feel as if I’m in more or less the same phase of life as Swift. While no, I’m not gearing up for an international tour or fighting off photographers every time I leave my house, I too am just beginning to grapple with love, in all its forms, face major life decisions and wrestle with what my beliefs are. 

One of the storylines in “Miss Americana” is Swift’s public support of the Democratic National Party, particularly in her adoptive home state Tennessee. There’s an incredibly emotional scene where Swift, who long stayed on the sidelines of political conversations, is meeting with both her parents and members of her team before releasing what would later be a letter giving her public support to members of the Democratic party. In the meeting members of Swift’s team are naturally apprehensive and appear as if they’re trying to talk her out of releasing the letter. 

To see how a young woman like Swift, whose influence and power is undeniable at this point, can still be talked down to like she’s a child is enough to make anyone shrink into a corner. But watching Swift, through tears and gritted teeth, stand her ground and take ownership of her choices is not just inspiring but empowering. Especially for women like myself, who are about to step into the world and have to stand up to our own critics. 

“Miss Americana” gives viewers, particularly fans, what feels like one last chance to be close with Swift and take that next, bold step in life. When the documentary shifts to discussing women in the music industry, Swift makes the sharp, but unfortunate observation that “we do exist in this society where women in entertainment are discarded in an elephant graveyard by the time they’re 35.” She adds, “This is probably one of my last opportunities as an artist to grasp onto that kind of success…

Who knows what’s next for Swift. She could probably continue working in the music industry forever if she wanted. Or, she could take a more than well-deserved hiatus. Regardless of what’s next, as long as Swift continues to open up her life to her fans, she’ll continue to grow with them too.