yes, the rumors are true: i am the biggest twenty-five-year-old dork in america (t swift recap).

we stood there, cameras at the ready.

i swayed back & forth in my feather dress & cowboy ankle boots.

we took a million pictures, while we meshed with the anxiously waiting crowd.

and then, it began.

and i barely took any pictures, because i just wanted to focus on enjoying everything & taking it all in - on really being present. i did manage to tear my eyes away from the stage long enough to send a few frantic text messages (for example: taylor grabbed my hand. i'm not kidding.)* but they required repeated effort, being blocked by the massive onslaught of social media crammed into one small place.

i'll be the first to admit, i get star-struck pretty easily (hi, luke wilson). so, of course, the simple fact that i am in the same room with taylor swift, & i am watching her sing songs & talk in real life, really got the best of me.

the music was reverberating all around us, & - in true concert fashion - i could feel the excitement of the music coursing through my body. i couldn't believe the power, energy, & emotion being emitted from & for this tiny person onstage, with blonde, curly hair & perfect red lips.

and as she sang 'enchanted' - with the talented dancers colorfully twirling all around her onstage - i had a moment of clarity: i was reassured that i belong in the artistic world. it was like the moment spoke to me & said, 'you can't not be a part of things like this.'

and i am grateful for that reassurance, because it's something i need pretty much constantly.

another performance that was especially striking was that of 'dear john.' 

it was intense. sarah leaned over to me at the end & said,

'you just  know that's about someone.'

and even though pretty much all of taylor swift's song are about someone,

i knew what she meant. the raw emotion was evident.

there was just a general, overpowering sense of this being genuine for her - something that she really loves. her passion. and when she told us that this passion of hers had only just started out as a hobby - that she had never dreamed that she would be here, putting on a concert for a packed arena of fans - & thanked us for letting it be her career, i was just amazed. i felt like that was a statement many people could relate to.

those words made it impossible for me not to realize & accept what i know i have been yearning for - to make my own hobby into my passion & hopefully - eventually - my career.

so, you can call me dorky, corny, sentimental, etc., all you want - but this concert was an experience for me.

dare i say, an enchanting one.

*yes, that really did happen. and i'm pretty sure i almost fainted.