Taylor Swift, Lockdown and Me - Guest article by Kate O' Connor

So, there I was, busy at work doing my university course and looking forward to 2020 and seeing Taylor Swift for the first time at Hyde Park and then we had lockdown… Life slowed down, everything went quiet and was cancelled. No work, no concerts, no fun.

 

And then I met my Swiftie family on a Swiftogeddon livestream back in April. That day I had originally planned on going to a Swiftogeddon club night to celebrate my birthday early. However, the virtual club night made the day even better. All I was expecting was that I was going to have a virtual club night, I wasn’t expecting to meet a lovely group of people. I clicked on a link on a twitch chat link and entered the group without realising a few months later I would be calling them family. Many have since joined the group and there’s about 19 of us who talk when we can usually on a daily basis. At the first virtual Swiftogeddon we had our first zoom and had a Taylor Swift ‘after party’. We have met most of each other’s family members and friends and we are all really close. Even though we all live far away from each other, we are only a text or a zoom away and that’s what I love about our group that when we meet virtually, we don’t stop laughing.

 

 

I’ve spent every evening either on a zoom call or I’ve had a Netflix party (often watching my favourite show Gilmore Girls). On a zoom call we’ve had a Swiftie family prom, fancy dress parties, quiz and games nights, parties and even the live from Paris concert, the folklore 5am release day listening party and watching new movie releases and Love Island. We’ve even had virtual club nights listening to Taylor Swift.

 

The WhatsApp group even made my 21st birthday really special. They stayed up with me listening to the Taylor Swift songs I was listening too and then at midnight the group all wished me a happy birthday and played me the video they had made me with my favourite song from Lover. I loved that video and they even personalised my birthday gifts too. They were all very sneaky and tried to get information from me about what I’d like so it was a lovely surprise. I spent my 21st birthday online with my Swiftie friends It could have been a very boring lockdown day, but it was one of the birthdays I can remember! I can’t thank everyone enough who made me feel so loved on my birthday. It was possibly my best birthday ever!

 

As Hyde Park was cancelled, we joined Swiftogeddon’s livestream event and spent the time on zoom. It was a great day and an amazing replacement for Hyde Park even if we couldn’t see Taylor in person, I still had the opportunity to spend the time with my swiftie family (and we didn’t have to queue for the drinks and toilets!).

Folklore’s release day party was my favourite memory this era. We were up at 5am on zoom and it was so much fun. It was like our swiftmas (swiftie Christmas for those that don’t know). The album has really resonated with me and has been the album I’ve listened to everyday for the past few months.

We’ve had our own virtual club nights on discord and zoom and listened to Taylor Swift songs until around midnight or 1am and have had so many laughs and even turned our rooms into clubs with fairy lights etc.

 

In Lockdown, I can’t imagine what it would have been like if I was not a fan of Taylor Swift. Her impact on my life has been incredible. So, thank you Taylor Swift. I have spent the past few months with my ‘swiftie family’ (as we call each other) and texting my friends when I can. I have loved every minute of it. You’re all amazing.

 

So, thanks Taylor Swift, for saving us in lockdown! Without your music and your amazing fans, it would have been very different. And to my swiftie family- you are the best! I am really looking forward to 2021 and the Taylor Swift road trip we have planned (and the Taylor themed brunch later this month!). 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nobody Is Perfect

Good afternoon and welcome back to this afternoon's blog. Some of you might have been expecting a football blog today, however, due to the international break, I thought I would give you something with a bit more substance. Before I begin, I want to thank Shan for her incredible article on Monday about mental wellbeing during the current pandemic. There were some highly inspirational words that we can all live by during these difficult times. If you show it enough support then I might even ask Shan to come back for a part 2? For today's topic, I wanted to do a follow-up to Chloe Johnson's amazing guest article which she wrote about how the impact of social media affects the way we all see ourselves, and the way we all strive to match the 'perfection' of models with the help of Instagram filters. As Chloe made the point of saying, these are not real. But our mind does not know this and always tells us that we must improve, even when there is nothing wrong with us. So...
Read more

FA Cup Final Preview - Arsenal v Chelsea

Good afternoon and welcome back to this afternoon's blog. What a funny week we have had. Scotland are beginning to ease their way out of lockdown, while some parts of England are heading towards a second one. Some tests events on getting supporters back into sports venues have been cancelled, while claims have been made this morning that the death numbers reported by the Government are inflated. It's becoming very difficult to know who or what to believe in the current climate. We all should just continue to follow our local advice and hopefully as a country we are moving in the right direction towards returning to a normal life. I feel like this was the only topic I could choose for today's blog (I am an Arsenal fan after all). The biggest game of the English football season. A historic competition entered by over 750 teams back in August, and now only 2 remain. Not only is it a major cup final, but it's also a London derby. These 2 teams quite often compete for silver...
Read more

I Have A Voice

Good afternoon and welcome back to the second instalment of my blog. Thank you to all those who read my post on Monday. I was not expecting so many of you to take time out your day to learn about me (to be fair you probably had nothing better to do). But seriously though, as I write this the 'This Is Me' post has 260 views! Thank you from the bottom of my heart to every single one of you. I thought I would follow on from the previous post and let you in to another part of my life. This is a very sensitive topic, one I very rarely talk about with anyone. I am expecting to get somewhat emotional during this, but hopefully this will inspire people to open up about their inner most thoughts and feelings. The hardest part about writing this is the constant reminder of the negativity that was put on my life on a daily basis. Before I get into my story, let me provide you with some background first. People get bullied. Others are bullies. The way I see it, bullies are only mean to oth...
Read more