My mom and I traveled up to Tacoma, WA this past Saturday morning. We only missed an exit once... even with the "TomTom" (GPS device). I guess it's just not good to have two blondes in a car driving around in a huge city. Clearly. Eventually, we checked into our hotel around 3:00pm, and had 4 hours to be ready. The concert started at 7 o'clock pm sharp.
I had known that I would be going to a T-Swizzie concert since February/March. It was my birthday gift. Happy 19th to me! Taylor Swift has been my idol... more like best friend... since her first singles "Our Song" & "Tim McGraw" came out. Which was like, forever ago. 2006/2007 ish. So, needless to say, I had been looking forward to that one day I'd be able to see her with my own eyes for a long time. And my hard working poppa bear was kind enough to make yet another dream come true for this girl.
Taylor Swift is a role model for plenty of teenage girls. Late teens. Adult women, even. And the boys all have crushes on her, so, this girl is loved. But, back to the girls. T-Swizzie's trademark is her bright red lips, at least recently this year. I too, have picked up on it. A little color is good. (And believe me, every girl at the concert had red lips goin' on).
With red lips, curled blonde hair, my Taylor Swift t-shirt, and my gorgeous date- the lovely Mama Hirz, I danced all the way over to the Tacoma Dome, which was... really, just in the backyard of the hotel. There was a ton of people, lots of little excited girls- and older girls like me... and older women like my mom, haha... Come on, who doesn't adore Miss Taylor??
We had pretty nice seats. Not too close (haha, is there even a too close?), and not too far away. We could see everything clearly and were so excited that we couldn't even care! The ONLY downside is that we were near a CRAZED fan who was jumping and screaming BEFORE the concert even started and I swear, haha, she was going to fall on top of the people sitting below her. She was insane. Holy moley.
Casey James, another country artist, kept us entertained, which I didn't know was going to happen, so that was cool. He had cool hair. And a nice smile. And could sing. I kind of thought he was cute.
Ed Sheeran then opened the concert, and he was lovely, so that's awesome. He is super talented and I could listen to him all day. And plus, he has the cutest accent in the entire world. Accent's are fantastic.
FINALLY... after almost an hour and a half of brutal waiting, Taylor came out and sang to my soul. Haha. She came out with her red, bedazzled microphone and started the party. She gave away her black hat that she wore for the first performance to a girl down in the floor section. That lucky girl was so shocked and just stood there bawling and clutching onto the hat. It was so pathetically precious. I would have done the same.
I know one thing. There are good and bad celebrities. Celebrities that give you something to look up to, and celebrities that lead you to be someone you shouldn't be, that make bad things look so fun and easy. Taylor fits the criteria of good celebrities. After singing her first song, she stood on the stage, and just genuinely smiled as she was cheered on. (Loudly, LOUDLY cheered on). Maybe it was just me, but I really feel like she really felt loved and admired. She was so happy, and the crowd of 20,000 that came out to see her truly humbled her, I think. (Not that she really needs any humbling). She stood there almost in disbelief of the incredible support. That was probably one of my favorite parts, seeing something- someone REAL.
She was perfection. A drama queen. And she put on one heck of a show. From props, dancers (shout out to my homegirl Caitlynn who GOT her own shout out by Taylor Swift herself!), lights, sparklers, confetti, two different stages, to a floating platform ABOVE the crowd- I'd say that she not only met expectations, but exceeded them! I was really blown away. My mom loved it, too. And my mom doesn't really do concerts.
One thing I really enjoyed, is that Taylor talked in between songs, about how she became to be who she is now. She said she writes about what she knows, and they just happen to be about love. She explained why the title of the album is Red. There's a difference between loving and being in love, compared to being crazy about someone, hopeless, and desperately in love and hardly even staying in control of your emotions. And even if things get hard, go bad, end abruptly and blow up in your face-all those emotions have ONE color to match it all- RED.
Taylor Swift has always written and sang the words that I couldn't say. Because, duh, she's a genius when writing about love, falling in love, falling out, and then dealing coping with your miserable life. Haha. And she's right, even if you fall out of love and you say, "Oh, I'm NEVER doing that again, that was awful"... You find yourself doing something treacherous.... falling back in. Because love always begins again. We just have to let it begin again.
That concert was more than the confetti and glam. I learned a lot from someone who seems to just know it all. Even though I know she doesn't, she comes pretty close, so I'll just take her word for it. We should never be afraid. Because someday, looking back, all the sad, beautiful, tragic parts of our life, will have shaped us into the person we were meant to be. And you just might find who you're supposed to be.
On her closing performance, she walked up the stairs of the stage, stood at the top, and looked out again at everyone. She had that same look of genuine happiness and appreciativeness. I was so impressed with her, and she honestly deserves all of her success!
I had the best time with my mom, and I am so glad I got to do something so exciting and fantastic with her before I head back for college in less than two weeks. (Gosh dang it). I caught a piece of confetti and I plan on sending it to my cousin Maren, who is on her mission, currently in the MTC. I know she'll appreciate having a piece of the concert with her. She was originally the one who was supposed to come with. And even though that would have been great, I am so glad that I got to go with my mom. I know she had fun, too. She even wore red pants. (GO MOM!).
It's all over and I'm sad. But with the way Taylor's fame is going, there will be PLENTY more concerts to go to and scream, and sing, and cry to all over again. Haha. Because I know T-Swizzie won't stop writing about my life. ;) So, when's that next album comin' out? Haha. #can'twait
"Loving him was RED."
THANK YOU DAD!! xoxo. -Kenna
