Taylor Swift- A Self Made Woman?

Taylor Swift is currently my favorite artist. I have been following her music since 2006, when I came across her song "Stay Beautiful" on iTunes. I have liked her long before she became popular, had songs on the radio and went "mainstream." I personally love all of her songs because they are unique, written by herself, and from the heart. Unlike many current popular artists who hire songwriters, Taylor writes all of her songs herself. I consider this to be a very self-made woman characteristic. It is much easier to hire a songwriter to do the work for you, but do the songs really have any meaning? I consider Taylor Swift's songs to be very meaningful, they are about real problems that teenagers experience and real life situations. She uses specific peoples names from her life, referencing a boy named Drew in "Teardrops on my Guitar," Corey in "Stay Beautiful" and Stephen in the song "Hey Stephen." Often, artists who use other peoples' lyrics have very vague and general songs, which I find hard to connect with because they dont mention any specifics.

Since I consider Taylor Swift to be such an inspiring artist through her songs alone, I did some research to find out if she truly was a self-made woman. I found a detailed biography of her life on her website. Taylor was brought up in a house with musical influence; her grandmother was a famous opera singer. Taylor started singing at the age of 10 for local karaoke contests, and sung at a basketball game at age 11. She started writing her own songs at age 12 with the guitar. She recalls "playing four hours today until my fingers were bleeding." Sincer her family was familiar with the music business, they took her to record labels all throughout Tenessee until she was signed.

So, is Taylor Swift a self made woman? I think she is. She genuinely loved composing music and singing when she was very young, it was not a dream forced upon her by anyone else. This is apparent in her music, especially seeing her play live. I saw her in concert this summer, and it was apparent that she loved being onstage and singing to the audience. Other artists I have seen in concert have a bored air while playing on stage. Taylor Swift was the complete opposite, she enjoyed performing, which was apparent in her smiling, dancing, and interacting with the audience. Writing all of her own songs and playing the guitar herself (instead of hiring another person to do it for her) shows that she is a self made artist. Even if she did not come from a poor background, like many of the self made men we talked about in class, she did have to work hard for success. Although her family's connections in the music business certainly helped Taylor's musical career, it was her dedication and passion for music that elevated her to the platinum-album sucess that she is today.

Listen to Taylor Swift's new song "Fearless" (the entire album was released just last week!)