What is the first thing that pops into your head when I say the name Taylor Swift? She is an artist about whom people have very strong opinions.  Their opinions might have to do with her former boyfriends, her “feuds” with other singers, or her music in general.

I’ll admit to thinking she was flighty when it came to boyfriends a few years ago. She seemed to be unable to be single for any amount of time. But the thing is, she was young. She still IS young. I was boy crazy too. But since she is in the spotlight, we see all of her relationships as our business. If we are into pop culture at all, we seem to think that anyone in the spotlight is our business. And I guess, in a way, if you’re in the spotlight at all, you’ve got to know that people are going to have strong opinions about who you date or what you do.

What I discovered when I went to her concert was that she is kind. She is down-to-earth. She is giving. And she is still young! She’s been in the spotlight for so long that we forget that she’s only 25 years old. She could be my kid! Granted, my oldest is only 20, but still, I’m old enough to be her mom. I’d hate it for people to talk about my daughter the way she gets talked about! But, it comes with the territory.

Before the concert, there were little bits of Taylor on the big screen. Did you know that last Christmas she sent personal gifts to many of her fans? It was so cute watching her wrap the gifts with her cats “helping.” She wrote personal cards that were really relevant to what these fans were going through. She follows her fans on Instagram and Twitter and pays attention to how they are feeling. She’ll tweet back to them and encourage them.

All of these things make me a fan. It’s not just that her music has catchy tunes and lyrics that are fun to sing at the top of your lungs. It’s that she is human. She’s just a girl who happens to be a celebrity in the spotlight. She’d still be kind if she wasn’t in the spotlight. She’d still be giving. And she’d still love cats…which elevates her to a whole other level with me 🙂

June 3, 2015 my daughter and I got to go see Taylor Swift at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH. It was an amazing show! She is so talented and personable. We had awesome seats…5 rows from the floor. It was so much fun, and if she tours again, I will certainly make every effort to go! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the #1989WorldTour.

Taylor started the show off with Welcome to New York.

Then came New Romantics….

…and Blank Space

Followed by I Knew You Were Trouble and I Wish You Would

How You Get the Girl

…and more…

She’s explaining how she would wake up in the middle of the night with ideas, so she finally put her keyboard right by her bed.

I really want that sparkly dress!

…now we got Bad Blood

This set was so pretty!

And finally, you’ve got to Shake it Off….

If you get a chance to see the 1989 World Tour, do it! You will be completely entertained and thoroughly impressed!

Thanks for the amazing concert, Taylor. I’ve been a fan since Drew was the reason for the Teardrops on Your Guitar, and I’ll be a fan until you don’t have to fake a smile so he won’t see 🙂