God I love her.  I want to send her a thank you note.  I feel like she helped me raise my daughters and gave them someone smart, feminine, and creative to look up to.  I like that she isn’t afraid to be a role model.  She seems like a normal girl and I guess that is her appeal.

My girls were able to get a meet & greet before one of her concerts.  I was more than a little nervous because sometimes meeting your idol in person can diminish the dream in your head.  I have to say that Taylor Swift met and exceeded the idea they had of her.  It’s been almost 4 years since that fateful day but I remember the excitement when they came through the door…”she’s so tall, she’s so beautiful, she was SO nice!”  My older daughter brought her a letter she wrote.  I came across it the other day and I think it says it all…

“Taylor,

I can’t even believe that I am writing you a letter right now or that I’m actually going to meet you.  I am 16 and for the past 3 years I have been dreaming of meeting you.  Every year for my birthday I have asked for a hug from you (and possibly to have you sing me a song like “Fifteen”)!  But obviously you didn’t just appear at my house on my birthday :)!

You are the only singer I have on my iPod and the only celebrity I’ve ever wanted to meet.  And that is because you are so inspiring, relatable and really seem like a genuinely nice person.  You have shown me that I don’t need to be “cool” or try so hard.  You have taught me that it’s good to be my goofy self and always stay true to who I am.  You have shown me that there is nothing wrong with me if a boy doesn’t like me, because you’ve been through it too.  And when girls are just plain mean, you have shown me that I can rise above it and that I am better than that.  And now all I want is to be kissed in the rain (so my mom keeps joking that she’s going to keep me inside on rainy days :).

Thank you for being here for me as I grow up, even though you didn’t know you were. Meeting you will be one of the most unbelievable experiences of my life and you inspire me by just being you.”

If I were to write Taylor Swift a thank you note I’d thank her for sharing her ability to express what it means to be a girl.  I’d thank her for making mistakes.  I’d tell her to hug her mom because she must have a really good one.  I love Taylor Swift.

But, I do still prefer dogs to cats.