What Is Love? A Discussion with help from Taylor Swift

by Spence Blazak

Bob Marley once pondered, "Is this love that I'm feeling?" Well I don't wonder, I know. I've been in love 3 times in my life. The first was with an Elmo doll I had when I was 5....alright, i still have it under my bed.....in my bed.....in my arms right now. The second time was with the soft drink Pepsi Blue. The third time was with a girl. Not a girl, a woman. Well, when I first fell in love with her, she was a girl. Look at me, I'm nervous just writing about her (Reason number 88 that I know its love)! I hope that one day you, my faithful readers, will feel something as powerful as my love for this being. Its power could be used to fuel a Transformer. Thats right, I'm talking about my unconditional love for Taylor Swift.

No. Stop it. Stop laughing. Its not a joke. This is the truest love that I know. How can I convince you that this is real? Well I guess I'll start from the beginning. Like all of the best loves in this world, it started with hatred. A cold November afternoon I found myself riding shotgun in a Honda Civic on my way to a church retreat. A song came on the radio. I made out a high pitched voice saying something like "Drew looks at me, I fake a smile so he won't see, I don't even care....." then I zoned out. I turned to the driver Jenny who was singing along. "Jenny?" I said. "What the fuck is this?" She said, "Some new country singer named Taylor Swift. Its called 'Teardrops on My Guitar'. Don't judge me, chick singers are my guilty pleasure." I laughed at this absurdity. Swift? Teardrops? A load of bollocks. I didn't think of it for a few months since I would just switch the station whenever I heard the demonic opening chords come on to the radio.

The following March, I was talking in history class about how stupid the Grammys were, and a few people asked me if Taylor Swift won anything. I laughed. The same clown who had befouled my ears months ago squeaked out a Grammy nod? HA! Fast forward to October. I'm at a Sweet 16. I've just sat through the new James Bond movie which was a farce. I also had just found out I was being lead on by the girl I liked. I was depressed (mostly about the former), but stayed at the party. Then the slow dance song came on. Little did I know that my life would never be the same. "Its a love story, baby just say...yes." I had been seduced. It was like I had just heard the angel Gabriel's trumpet and the Second Coming of Christ was upon me. I felt like I would never be sad again. There are very few moments in one's life where the universe completely aligns.

I was floored when I found out it was Taylor Swift. She was....beautiful in every imaginable way. Voice, lyrics, personality, FACE. You name it, it was beautiful. I immediately bought the Platinum Edition of Fearless and her self-titled debut. NOT. ONE. BAD. SONG. Except "Teardrops on My Guitar" (trivia question for the Spence Exam, the only TSwizzle songs I don't like are that one and "If This Was a Movie").

In all seriousness, Taylor is a marvel at what she does. To paraphrase one of my favorite Woody Allen quotes that I don't ever remember, "Every work starts out perfectly in your head, and the mark of a great writer is messing it up the least after it leaves your mind." Taylor does just that. You know exactly the emotions she felt when she wrote each song, there is no uncertainty. Every album she has is essentially a concept album on the idea of love. Infatuation, true love, heartbreak, being lied to and cheated on, feeling like shit, and feeling like a god. She is a master of emotion. The swing from a song like "Mine" to "Last Kiss" is insane. It is also can't be looked over that she is the queen of infectious melodies. They are catchier than the Clap! Am I right?!?!?!

At this point, I became a Taylor fanatic. I have 6 posters in my study, a card I bought for myself that sings "Fearless", and I'm not ashamed to say that "You Belong with Me" has over 115 plays on my itunes not including the times I played the CD in my car (I'm convinced that I played that album so many times that it evaporated...I wish I could find it).

This week, my life reached its climax when I saw Taylor Swift live at the Prudential Center. Woodstock, James Brown Live at the Apollo, The Beatles Apple Studios concert, THEY ARE ALL CHILD'S PLAY COMPARED TO MY TAYLOR. CHILD'S PLAY! My heart was beating fast the entire train ride up. All I could think about was that moment she would rise to the stage in smoke, and I wondered if I would pass out when i saw with my own eyes that she was a real person. I knew that it would be like that first time I heard "Love Story". I'd have the privilege of falling in love with the same wonderful girl twice. I almost blacked out several times. Alright. I did. Several times. Then I bought a tour t-shirt and planned on wearing it even more than my now famous Sumo wrestler "I'm Big in Japan" shirt.

I sat in my seat. The opener came and went. The lights dimmed. The curtain lifted. My hand covered my gaping mouth. I screamed like a little girl who had just seen Elvis wink at her. I'll proudly admit to that last statement (Reason 97 that its true love). Then.....................she appeared from the mist in a dramatic silhouette. SHE WAS REAL. The light flooded her. She was glorious. From the moment she sang the first "The" of "Sparks Fly" for the concert, I stood up and screamed every single word to almost every song. Heaven. I was in Heaven.

Now I would like to know if what I have just described isn't love, then......no. Then there must be no such thing as love. So when people come up to me and say "Spence, why do you love Taylor Swift?" I'll say "Because she taught me how to love." End scene.