Taysgiving Day 2

#TaysGiving2019

So I forgot to do Taysgiving yesterday like the clown I am. But I'm so glad you guys hopped right onto this. Thank you!

Anyways. Today is all about why you are thankful for your favorite song...

For me, that song is Haunted

Haunted came out in 2010. It was never a single, and in my opinion, it's one of Taylor's deepest cuts. (Ask a local if they know Haunted and they'd be like "uh?").

In 2010, I was ten years old. I was having a rough time at school. I was socially awkward. I was one of the least liked people in my class. I was going through puberty. Life was... One big yikes. I clung to Speak Now like a security blanket as I made it through the end of my fifth grade year.

In October of 2011, I went and saw a curly haired 21 year old perform on her second headlining tour. A little over halfway through the show (Which changed my life as a whole), bells rang through a silent arena.

Then the strings picked up. Then the guitar. Everything about that performance was life changing. The aesthetic. Her vocals. The way Taylor moved. It was all... Perfect. I had already started writing songs a couple years before hand, and had started vocal and guitar lessons six months prior.

But it was in that moment that I decided there was no way that I wasn't going to be on stage like that one day. It was in that moment I knew I had to write my own music.

The following year my sphere of influences grew. I started listening to Fall Out Boy and Paramore ("Monster" by Skillet? Peak seventh grade Nikkie). Haunted fit in with every single one of those songs. It was a darker side of Taylor that wouldn't even come close to being paralleled for another six years. It was a darker side I needed.

I'm nineteen now. I'm nowhere near that stage. I'm closer than the girl in section 120 row K at Gila River Arena. But I am not on an arena stage. Sometimes I cry when I listen to Haunted. My heart has gone through a lot. And now the lyrics equally resonate with the instrumentation.

I don't think I would be who I am without Haunted. I wouldn't be the same fan. I wouldn't be the same person. So thank you Taylor for writing Haunted.

Honorable Mentions:

Look What You Made Me Do: For Giving Me The Stregnth To Graduate High School Early

I Did Something Bad: For Creating A Dark Pop Song That Is Just... Art

The Way I Loved You: For Being The Song I Managed To Scar My Foot Dancing To.

Teardrops On My Guitar: For Being The First Song I Ever Heard By Taylor.