She's My Hero♥

"This album is called "FEARLESS," and I guess I'd like to clarify why we chose that as the title. To me, "FEARLESS" is not the absence of fear. It's not being completely unafraid. To me, FEARLESS is having fears. FEARLESS is having doubts. Lots of them. To me, FEARLESS is living in spite of those things that scare you to death. FEARLESS is falling madly in love again, even though you've been hurt before. FEARLESS is walking into your freshmen year of high school at fifteen. FEARLESS is getting back up and fighting for what you want over and over again...even though every time you've tried before, you've lost. It's FEARLESS to have faith that someday things will change. FEARLESS is having the courage to say goodbye to someone who only hurts you, even if you can't breathe without them. I think it's FEARLESS to fall for your best friend, even though he's in love with someone else. And when someone apologizes to you enough times for things they'll never stop doing, I think it's FEARLESS to stop believing them. It's FEARLESS to say "you're NOT sorry", and walk away. I think loving something despite what people think is FEARLESS. I think allowing yourself to cry on the bathroom floor is FEARLESS. Letting go is FEARLESS. Then, moving on and being alright...That's FEARLESS too. But no matter what love throws at you, you have to believe in it. You have to believe in love stories and prince charmings and happily ever after. That's why I write these songs. Because I think love is FEARLESS." -Taylor Swift

I love Taylor Swift. And I love Fearless: Platinum Edition. And I'm glad I own it.




Here are the hidden messages for the six new songs.

Jump then fall:
Last Summer Was Magical

Untouchable:
We Always Want What We Can't Reach

Forever and Always (piano version):
Still Miss Who I Thought He Was

Come in with the Rain:
I Wont Admit That I'd Wish You'd Come Back

Superstar:
I'll Never Tell

The Other Side of the Door:
What I Was Really Thinking When I Slammed The Door

Love Story Manifesto

            I am a sucker for romance. It’s fairly common for me to find myself sobbing in a sad chick flick, or daydreaming about my future prince charming, or jamming out to Taylor Swift’s catchy love ballads. I had my first crush when I was in grade school. His name was John Stamos (or rather Full House’s Uncle Jesse). Unfortunately, with the distance and everything, it didn’t quite work out. Anyway, I think I’ve been planning my wedding since I was eight. You can’t really blame me though. As a kid I was exposed to nothing but those classic Disney movies. You know, the ones that involve some damsel, some distress, and some rescue all ending in a happily ever after with true love and friendly woodland creatures. Even as a kid though, I’ve always been slightly irritated by that kind of ending. That’s not an ending. What happens after the newly married couple rides off into the sunset in their carriage? Do they vacation every summer in exotic locations? Do they ever argue about whose shows they watch on Monday nights? What is a real happily ever after like?

            I often characterize happily-ever-afters based on longevity. For example, whenever I see an elderly couple walking down the street, grocery shopping together, maybe just getting some laundry done at the Laundromat, I am struck with a sense of admiration. Wow. Now that is what I call true love. After witnessing such a scene, the next twenty minutes or so then consist of me daydreaming about my own ideal romance. Wouldn’t it be nice to meet someone who you are so completely head over heels in love with that you could spend the rest of your life with them?  I once read about this couple in Britain—Frank and Anita Milford. They remain happily married after eighty-one years together. I’m sure two people could not possibly spend eighty-one years together without a few conflicts arising between them. It takes something mighty powerful to make that happen. It’s difficult for me to even imagine myself in a stable one-year relationship much less an eighty-year one. It’s that kind of challenge that I find so endearing though. I want that.

The reason why I refer to seeking true love as a challenge is because I’ve had roughly around four hundred crushes in my lifetime thus far. Don’t quote me for accuracy’s sake though.  However, I would also admit that I’ve only been in love once. Some people try to put an age limit on love (as if there was some sort of law) by making silly statements like, “you’re too young to be in love.” I cannot stand that phrase. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely wouldn’t call myself an expert on love. In fact, I’d say I’m far from it. Hey, I’m still learning. Yet based on my extensive knowledge of romantic comedies, my approximately 100+ viewings of The Notebook, my general observations, and my one personal experience with this incredible feeling, I have a thing or two to say about love.

            You see, love has this tendency to sneak up on you when you’re not looking. You never really see it coming, but when it hits, it hits hard. I think that’s what adds a magic factor. The story, the sensation, the results may vary. Generally speaking though, you’ll probably never find yourself truly in love, wishing that you weren’t. The best way I can explain it is to imagine for a moment that time stands still and everything around you kind of disappears and you’re indulging yourself in the sweetest escape as you float away from reality on a silver lining cloud coated in sugary goodness. You almost can’t imagine it. Similarly, you can’t really describe it either. You are simply on top of the world.

Here’s another way of looking at it which, in my opinion, pretty much epitomizes love. There is a famous passage from the bible that reads, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (The Corinthians 13:4) I find this particular excerpt extremely powerful. To me, this sounds like the criteria for sheer happiness and is everything I could ever dream to attain with another person. What distinguishes this statement as more of a goal than a definition of love is the difficulty of transforming it into reality. It would take tremendous strength, effort, and vigilance to achieve this ultimate reward. I mean I, for example, am probably the least patient person in the world. We all have our faults and part of loving is loving unconditionally. Two people must have the willingness to work together, helping one another hand in hand, toward this common goal. Who in the right mind would pass up the opportunity to experience this? The lucky lovers out there who have actually achieved this were well aware from the beginning that the rigor would be worth the prize and have clearly hit the jackpot.

         If only this concept were easy to grasp. It appears as though seeing two people genuinely and unconditionally caring for one another is such a rare sight at this day in age. It truly pains me to see people give up on love. Divorce rates continue to soar. People will do the most horrible things to one another when they are upset. Nobody actually seeks unhappiness and failed relationships. However, many people are so afraid to love because they don’t want to get hurt. They don’t want to be alone in the end. Not that modern media helps the cause. The radio has become a cauldron brewing lovesick catharsis. That goes for both the artists and the audience. John Mayer writes a song about his broken heart and the next day it’s at the top of iTunes’ most downloaded songs. You can search Kelly Clarkson’s latest heavy-hearted single on YouTube and the first ten comments are guaranteed to mention personal love-related grief that the song evokes. It seems like these melancholy tunes are more relatable than cheerful ones nowadays. As I mentioned earlier, I was in love once. It was relatively short lived, but it was love. Let me just say that 1. It was worth the pain that eventually ensued 2. The pain definitely eases as time progresses and 3. The end of one love does not imply the end of love. Sometimes things simply do not work out. This is no excuse to assume failure and defeat. As the old saying goes, “It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” I couldn’t agree more. We learn quite a bit from our experiences with love. We learn more about ourselves and we grow to become stronger people. I think that we need this self awareness that we gain from love not only to discover some of our previously unknown desires and ambitions, but because we need to know who we are before we give ourselves to other people; we should always want to give one another our best selves anyway. However, some continue to fail to recognize the value of a lost love. They say love is over rated; I say they’ve forgotten what it’s like to be in love.

            When it comes down to it, love is just simply unpredictable. It’s all about taking chances. Maybe it’s not always as easy as Snow White and Cinderella portray it to be, but I’ll bet that even they had their share of complications. So here’s to love. Here’s to every girl who lost hope in love when that boy never called back and to every girl who prayed for her own Mr. Darcy after reading Pride & Prejudice. Here’s to love. Here’s to every boy who couldn’t work up the nerve to ask that girl to the junior prom and to every boy whose heart shattered at the sight of his crush locking lips with the football jock after the big game. I believe in hurt and I believe in despair. Mostly though, I believe in love. I am a firm believer. Really, you only lose your chance at happily ever after when you lose your faith. It’s out there, so let it find you.

Seeing Stars