Recently, Taylor Swift has gotten more Taylor Swift-y than anyone could've ever imagined. From taking a walk while cradling her cat in her arms to giving a fan $90 to get a birthday dinner she's become the loving, doting 24-year-old grandmother we all knew she could be. And it's not accident. In the lead-up to her new album, 1989, she's giving the media exactly what they want by playing up the most granny, most cat-loving and most calculatingly endearing aspects of her personality.
The road to this more mature, self-aware Taylor Swift has not been easy. In the eight years since her first album was released, she's spent the majority of her teen years and the beginning of her twenties surrounded by paparazzi and music journalists; the details of her love life, the drama of her friendships, and every stumble has been well-documented. But now she's all grown up. She had a grown-up beef with Katy Perry, she took a break from dating to have a little more 'me time' and she even had her own feminist revelation -- thanks to Lena Dunham, of course.
And all we have to say is: "hallelujah hands emoji." Self-aware Taylor Swift knows what we all think of her and she knows how to use it to her advantage. She can even poke fun at herself like she did when she posted a selfie wearing a shirt that says "no its becky," a reference to a widely circulated Tumblr meme in which a picture of high school-era Taylor Swift was paired with a caption about "Becky" who died of a marijuana overdose, which led to the now-immortal response "no its becky" when the photo caption's validity was called into question.
Between all these endearing photo ops, pop hits, and movie roles in adaptations of required middle school reading she's probably scheming about how to take over the world with an army of cats and lady friends. But, honestly, if self-aware Taylor Swift does take over the world who would even complain? A life of cute cats, strong female friendships and an ever rotating influx of cute actors and pop stars to date doesn't sound all that horrible.
Between all these endearing photo ops, pop hits, and movie roles in adaptations of required middle school reading she's probably scheming about how to take over the world with an army of cats and lady friends. But, honestly, if self-aware Taylor Swift does take over the world who would even complain? A life of cute cats, strong female friendships and an ever rotating influx of cute actors and pop stars to date doesn't sound all that horrible.