Taylor Swift’s personal essay - 30 Things I Learned Before Turning 30 – for ELLEhas taught us a lot about one of the most famous, and most criticised, popstars in the world. From ridiculous revelations such as admitting she used to use Sharpie as eyeliner and that she likes to cook recipes from British culinary legends Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson, to far more serious proclamations about body image and politics, this candid piece gives us an insight into the singer that we wouldn't normally see.
However, one of the most compelling things the 29-year-old touched on was the squad which famously used to follow her every move. Taylor, who practically invented #SqaudGoals, used to be synonymous with her impenetrable girl gang, which included the likes ofCara Delevingne, Selena Gomezand Karlie Kloss. It was a gaggle of girls like something out of Mean Girls – an overwhelmingly white group in which none of us mere mortals would ever be cool enough, glamourous enough or skinny enough to enter. When they weren’t at lavish beach parties, her rich friends would even join her on stage during her 1989 tour or at the VMAs; it was annoying, brash – and seemed like a ploy to stay relevant, and cool, at all times.
But if this essay has proved anything, it’s demonstrated that Taylor has grown up – and she no longer wants to be viewed as a Prom Queen with her surrounding clique. Which, considering how famous her ex-mates are, must have been quite daunting to address. (She might have long dropped her good-girl image, but she kept her dignity in tact as she still didn’t name anyone in the essay. Not even when she skimmed over the bitter Kimye fued. That's called growth, guys.)
She writes, in lesson twenty, that she’s since realised some friendships – or as she calls them ‘situationships’ - do have a shelf live. “Something about “we’re in our young twenties!” hurls people together into groups that can feel like your chosen family,” she says. “And maybe they will be for the rest of your life. Or maybe they’ll just be your comrades for an important phase, but not forever. It’s sad but sometimes when you grow, you outgrow relationships.”
Furthermore, Taylor writes about how she struggled with making friends at school, using this to explain why she was quite so keen to brag about her girl squad once she was older . “Even as an adult, I still have recurring flashbacks of sitting at lunch tables alone or hiding in a bathroom stall, or trying to make a new friend and being laughed at,” the singer writes. “In my twenties I found myself surrounded by girls who wanted to be my friend. So I shouted it from the rooftops, posted pictures, and celebrated my newfound acceptance into a sisterhood, without realizing that other people might still feel the way I did when I felt so alone.” It might be a well-written excuse, but her reasoning partly explains why Taylor felt the need to effectively do her mates’ PR with endless public appearances.
Interestingly, she also broke her silence on politics, admitting that she hasn’t felt educated enough to speak out on it until now, contrary to criticism that she was keeping political neutrality to sell records. "Invoking racism and provoking fear through thinly veiled messaging is not what I want from our leaders," she says. "I'm going to do more to help. We have a big race coming up next year." She might be a popstar, but her influence cannot be underestimated. (There were 65,000 registrations in the 24-hour period after she encouraged young voters to get involved in the midterms in October last year.)
So expect to hear way more about Taylor Swift's personal politics in the next two years.
It’s almost a shame Taylor doesn’t have a squad anymore, because if she did, then we’d totally want to join.