I’m a teenage girl in my 20s
I went to The Eras Tour.
I attended Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour last Thursday; her first show at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium. I’ve looked forward to it since getting my tickets during that chaotic presale last November, and simply couldn’t believe the day was here.
It was also my very first time seeing Taylor, and it was an amazing experience watching her perform songs from every era I “missed out” on. My mom and I went together, because there is no one else I would want to share it with. Like, I cannot listen to “The Best Day” without sobbing, because we have an unbreakable bond!!
Seeing Taylor with her felt meaningful to me because as much as she’s taught me in my life, I’ve been able to share things I love with her too. We would listen to Lover — her favorite Taylor album — in the car every time we ran errands together. So obviously, watching her sing along to “Lover” and “I Knew You Were Trouble” at SoFi brought me a kind of happiness I’ve never felt before. Mothers and daughters were all over the place, and it was heartwarming!
I was also constantly thinking of 10-year-old me that night. I used to close the door in our den to play the “White Horse” and “Love Story” music videos — on Music Choice on-demand, mind you — while recreating Taylor’s every move and singing along. That year, I got an iPod and iTunes gift cards from Costco for my birthday, and made my brother download all my favorite songs for me. I think that girl would’ve screamed and jumped up and down if present day-me could tell her that we would watch her do her “Fearless” spinnies one day. And then she probably would’ve been annoyed that she would have to wait until she was 24 to see it.
I read this article in Vanity Fair by one of my favorite writers, Delia Cai, where she definitively says that “We’ve Reached Peak Girl.” She discusses Barbie, The Eras Tour, and how these cultural events (and more) are allowing us to return to our inner girl. Identifying as a “girl,” she says, “is not a matter of gender,” but the “untroubled femme modality of the life that we wish to inhibit.” We all wore pink to the movies, and we’re wearing our best Taylor-inspired outfits to her tour. Life could be so much more fun if we carried on with that unabashed excitement for mundane events too. I want to feel untroubled yet brimming with joy when I go to Costco, or when I’m walking to a café.
For example, the first U.S. leg of The Eras Tour saw millions of friendship bracelets being exchanged among Swifties. They featured lyrics, inside jokes, and the names of songs and albums. This callback to childhood was probably my favorite part of the tour. I probably hadn’t made a bracelet since elementary or middle school, and I had fun coming up with all my color schemes and finding cute beads for them.
I had the sweetest experience trading bracelets with a girl who was probably around 5 years old. She told me she liked my purple outfit, and while I was thanking her, I asked her if she wanted one of my bracelets. I handed her one that said “I ❤️ TS,” and she asked me if I wanted one of hers. I said, “Okay, whichever one you want!” This is what she gave me:
It was my favorite one I received… upside down letters, gibberish and all!
My favorite day ever consisted of me scream-singing the words to the songs I’ve listened to since I was 10, 16, 20, and now. Reclaiming my girlhood in the way Taylor has includes me being unapologetically enthusiastic about all my interests, dressing the way I’ve always wanted, smiling while baring my crooked teeth, and simply having fun again.
And to top it all off, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was announced at the end of Taylor’s six-show run at SoFi Stadium. My favorite album rereleasing when I feel the most me I’ve ever felt is everything to me!!! I still remember when I bought the deluxe version of the original album in 2014 and looked through all my polaroid photocards. I cannot wait to relive it in my mid-20s.
Overall, The Eras Tour was a literal tour de force of stamina, talent, and love. I was giving 100% in the crowd, and needed those breaks between album eras to recoup… I don’t know how she has been doing three-and-a-half hour shows nearly every weekend since March. And I will be back at SoFi in September for Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour. Tayoncé girls, we’re having the summer of our lives!!!
Love this Chelsea, it definitely felt like a full-circle moment for me too! Thank you again for the bracelets!! You can't imagine how much they meant to me.