ferris wheels, kisses and lilacs

I remember watching videos from the Speak Now World Tour and one of the things I was most looking forward to at my show was the opening to “Enchanted.” Thirteen years later at The Eras Tour, the opening to “Enchanted” was once again on that list.

How has my life changed over the course of this tour? I turned 30 and then 31.

Her music has been my companion for more than half my life. Although I was out of the country for The Red Tour dates, “All Too Well” brought me comfort an ocean away. I wasn’t doing well during the 1989 era and missed her stop here, but one treasured memory from those years is listening to “22” at midnight on my 22nd birthday. “When I was drowning, that’s when I could finally breathe” was what I held onto.

The first of my two Eras Tour shows was on the six year anniversary of my reputation tour date. My cousin invited me, and it was she who took me to my first Taylor Swift concert fifteen years ago. The Fearless album and “Teardrops On My Guitar” will always hold special places in my heart.

It’s less a then and now and more a continuing journey with her music. I’m enamoured with the way she sang “Photo album on the counter” during “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” on The Eras Tour.

One of the greatest gifts from this tour was hearing Taylor play songs across her discography, including four new albums and the vault songs. And then she gave us the mashups. I listened in awe as she joined their lines together, or sang one song to the sound of the other. I’m thinking of “hoax” with “Sweet Nothing.”

We’ve arrived at the gratitude section of this post.

Thank you to the fans all over the world for your generosity in sharing your Eras Tour experience with us. I loved every clap, clap for “You Belong With Me” and “You forgive, you forget, but you never let it go” during “Bad Blood” on this side of the screen.

Thank you to everyone who made this tour possible, from transporting and setting up the stage and equipment to performing on it and more. Her band, backing vocalists, and dancers brought not only their talent but their joy and enthusiasm too. I’m thrilled to have been introduced to Gracie Abrams’ and Sabrina Carpenter’s music.

Now for the impossible: where to even begin to thank Taylor? To say it is a privilege to be her fan would be an understatement. I feel incredibly lucky to have had all these years. I know her music will always be by my side.