It has always been a source of comfort to me that Taylor Alison Swift, born 13th December, 1989 (that's 30 years ago today, guys) is a year and two weeks older than I am. That 12 months and 14 days is, as far as I'm concerned, the reason that she's just a little bit ahead of me in terms of career success.
But, as Taylor and I both approach 30, the gap seems to get smaller. She's 29, I'm 28. And as we run out of road in our twenties, we, like so many other women, are learning the greatest secret of getting older.
As you get closer to 30, you stop caring what people think.
You still care about your friends and your family and the flaming ball of wreckage that is politics, but otherwise, it's all good.
You're over-dressed for a party? No big deal. Someone makes a snide comment about you online? C'est la vie.
Over the weekend, Taylor Swift got drunk. Drunk enough that #DrunkTaylor was trending on Twitter.
Once upon a time Swift's reputation was so heavily managed that she would never have been seen out, merrily plastered and having a lovely time.
But, just like she's finally got political, lending her voice to the Democratic campaign, being an open LGBTQ+ advocate and speaking out against Donald Trump, she's also doing shots in bars with her mates. She's living her best life - on her own terms.
People tell you that getting older meant feeling more at ease with yourself, but it's so hard to believe. How could being less young - the most valued human quality in Western society -make you feel better?
But it does.
There was a time where I had to talk myself into walking into a pub on my own if the friend I was meeting hadn't arrived yet. A time where before I made a joke in the office I rehearsed it for half an hour in my head. My teens and early-mid twenties were hallmarked with self doubt and an underlying sense that I wasn't quite good enough, a sense which seems to magically erode with age.
Watching videos of Taylor Swift from the weekend is a joy. She's full of laughter and happiness. She's older and less thin that she once was and the most beautiful she's ever been. Singing to her own songs without worrying that it will seem conceited. Swearing, without worrying about some midwestern parenting association decrying her as a bad role model.
Time was thatI thought 30 was the scariest of all ages. The ultimate 'I'm not young anymore'. But, just like Taylor, the closer it gets, the more I realise that aging isn't a punishment, it's a massive gift.
By the time you're on the ramp towards 30, you've almost certainly had your heart broken, lost a friendship that you really valued, made a massive mistake at work and embarrassed yourself in front of someone you wanted to impress. And survived it all.
Taylor Swift has done those things with the volume turned up to 1,000. But they're still the same things that we all go through. And eventually, just like Taylor, when you've finished surviving you get to be the deliriously happy girl in the sparkly dress, doing shots in a bar full of friends, not giving a fuck what anyone thinks about you. And honestly, that's magical.