1.2 | Picture to Burn

to Read (
Words)
There's no time for tears I'm just sitting here planning my revenge.
My favorite part of this song is that no questions are asked. Taylor makes declaration after declaration about this person who so obviously wronged her. There is no space for excuses, no self blame. She stands on business that this relationship was horrible because this person was horrible and she is not going to give it any more time, or any benefit of the doubt. It’s a perfect example of knowing what you have witnessed and not trying to gaslight yourself into seeing it any different than it was. 

I have felt (because I have been taught) that women are suppose to hold grace for the people around them. Ideas like "nobody’s perfect" or "who among us hasn’t made mistakes" have been weaponized against us to accept behavior that is more than just simply being human. Yeah those trite sayings are true technically, but they should never excuse physical, emotional, or spiritual abuse and all the turmoil that comes with it. 

While I likely yelled this song at the top of my lungs in high school while dancing around my room over a crush who didn’t say hi to me when passing me in the halls, my adult self feels even more empowered by this song. Giving space and grace to people who apologize for their small human errors will always be a part of my personality. Excusing horrible people who use their power or position to do horrible things, especially to the most vulnerable populations, is never okay, full stop.

We could all be inspired by Taylors 16 year old words. Let’s strike a match on any time we wasted giving to these people and move on to the people who care. And if you need a moment to sit around and plan your revenge, that’s a good first step. Letting grief move through you is healthier than stopping to or hiding it away, it will always come back screaming until you acknowledge it. So for now let things burn burn burn, and soon enough the pain will fade leaving room for something better to come along.

Let's strike a match on any time we wasted giving to these people and move on to people who care.
I love Taylor Swift’s music and have a deep curiosity about who it is so meaningful to so many people. If you have any thoughts about this song in particular please share it in the comments below so that me and the Swiftie community that finds this space can enjoy your insights.
Mallory Hazel
0 Comments

1.1 | Tim McGraw

to Read (
Words)

I hope you think of me.

While most songs from the Debut album take me back to the teenage angst and feelings of longing that are unique to the high school experience, Tim McGraw withstands the test of time and seems just as relevant to Mallory at age 33 as it was to Mallory at age 16. I relate to the themes of Tim McGraw now as much as I ever did. For me it really captures the human need to mean something to the people that come in and out of our lives. Each phase of life brings in new people and the transitions between phases can mean people who meant a lot to us at one point are gone. A childhood best friend, a first love, a college roommate, these are the people we share BFF bracelets with, risk everything to hold hands with, stay up til midnight sharing stories and secrets and laughter with. Because of time and space these relationships can fade until one day you realize they are so far in the past, and potentially gone forever. All these people who were so important to a developmental stage of your life become people you realize you may never see or talk to again. Even if you did connect now, could it be in the same way as it was before? The relationships that we had were so specific to where we were, and as time marches on we cannot return to what was. Sometimes that makes me feel so sad.

Yet Tim McGraw holds a bit of optimism for me. In this song I find that what is gone in reality still exists in my memory. Over and over we hear the phrase “When you think (fill in the blank)… I hope you think…” One specific example is “When you think Tim McGraw, I hope you think my favorite song. Someday you’ll turn your radio on, I hope it takes you back to that place.” This idea has me believing that on some typical Tuesday night and old friend might be out there living life, when something out of the blue jogs a memory of me. I do hope that people that have impacted me in positive ways were also impacted by me in positive ways. I hope my memory makes them smile for a moment before they return to their regularly scheduled lives. I guess it is just nice to believe that my existence in someone else’s life was meaningful. I hope that our connection transcends the time and space that has since separated us.


It's nice to believe that my existence in someone else's life was meaningful. I hope that our connection transcends the time and space that has since separated us.

I love Taylor Swift’s music and have a deep curiosity about who it is so meaningful to so many people. If you have any thoughts about this song in particular please share it in the comments below so that me and the Swiftie community that finds this space can enjoy your insights. 

Mallory Hazel
0 Comments

Taylor Swift Debut Album Overview

to Read (
Words)
Taylor Swift’s Debut album was released in the fall of my Sophomore year of high school. While I remember listening to Teardrops on My Guitar, Our Song, and Tim McGraw, I don’t really remember where I would have heard the album in full. Likely in the background at the mall or on the radio. I was surprised when revisiting this album that I could sing along to the chorus of almost every song. Everything was vaguely familiar. Did I somehow have the album on my iPod, or have these songs been around long enough that I simply have heard them over time. I guess the part of my mind that holds the music of my life is a place that is easy enough for my brain to access. While I can’t remember how these songs came into my life so many years ago, it is very apparent that when they did, they left a deep impression. 

Listening to this album as a 33 year old woman that has left her teenage years behind, I was surprised how each song unlocked that angsty teenage longing that I thought was extinct. How quickly I was sent back to high school wondering if my crush at the time saw me, noticed me, liked me… I found myself wondering if this album resonates with the teenagers of 2025 in the same way that it hit me nearly 20 years ago. While the landscape of high school has certainly changed in ways I can’t comprehend (with the technological advances and waves of social media websites that have come and gone), are the basic emotional needs still the same. Do they still want to be seen, liked and heard in the same ways I did, and in the same ways all generations do. Or is it different, and if so how?

Let’s do a deep dive into Taylor Swift’s debut album. As I listen to each song I really want to understand why I feel so deeply connected to each song. What parts of me does it reach? How do I relate to the music that has been with me for so much of my life. I invite you to do the same. Share in the comments any and all the thoughts you have. Revisit this music and share your story with it. My curiosity leads me to wondering what makes music resonate with people across the country and across the world. We all have a unique story, unique experiences, unique upbringings, but we all also listen to and love the music that Taylor Swift has gifted us. It connects us and that is a gorgeous part of being part of the Swiftie fandom.

Let's do a deep dive into Taylor Swift's Debut Album. Revisit this music and share your story with it.
Mallory Hazel
0 Comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)