Taylor Swift’s “Daylight” and what it means to me

Originally published March 24, 2023

One of my favorite Taylor Swift songs is called “Daylight.” It truly embodies her growth and maturity as a woman finding romantic love after enduring multiple heartbreaks, but the song delivers so much more than the emotions related to being in a happy, healthy relationship. The overarching theme is that “you are what you love,” that after years of making mistakes and trusting the wrong people, and feeling hopeless, there was daylight at the end of her darkest night. There was a love shining bright as gold, unlike any other feeling she had had before. Love comes in many forms, not just through a romantic relationship, which is what her entire album Lover, which “Daylight” is off of, is about. Listening to this song makes me think about the things that I love.

I love books because I love learning about other people. I love learning about their experiences, whether or not I find them relatable. I love realizing why characters are led to making poor choices, most of the time as a result of not receiving the love they’ve been seeking. I love knowing that there’s hope even when it seems like there’s no way out. I love hearing from those who have felt the need to be silent, but have chosen to express themselves on the page because they feel that is the only safe way, and through that their voice is heard. I love stories with happy endings, but I love sad stories too, because those are the ones that really teach you something, that make you think of any other possible paths the characters could have taken to have received a different fate.

I love music because I love the way it makes me feel, the way it makes me move, the way it motivates me, and makes me feel connected to the lyricist. I love that I feel understood when I hear a song about wanting to be noticed by a specific person. I love songs about the romantic love I hope to find someday. I love songs about adventure and fun and freedom and joy. I love songs about heartbreak, because sometimes those are the ones that feel like a warm hug. I love hearing an artist sing, and wondering how many times they had to have practiced to have gotten their voice to sound exactly the way they wanted it to, or maybe it was effortless and came naturally to them and they didn’t even have to think about it. I love the combination of the drums and the keys and the guitar and how they’re all so different and yet put together they sound so cohesive and mix so perfectly together like a well cooked dish. I love that through music, people are brought together. I love finding someone who loves a song as much as I do, because when I know that they’re a fan of “All Too Well (10 minute version),” I can come an inch closer to understanding what they’ve gone through in the past, and perhaps they relate to the same line I relate to, and they’ve felt that heart wrenching ache after being let down by someone. I love when someone tells me what their favorite song is, or who their favorite artist is, or their favorite album, because knowing these things help me understand more about them, about what their style is and what their dreams are, and what they hope for, and what they have loved. I love listening to music from other cultures and learning that there’s so much more than what I’ve been playing on repeat for the longest time.

I love movies for their sense of escapism, for the entertainment and joy that they bring, especially when you go to the movie theater and smell the classic buttery popcorn, and sit in a comfy seat next to someone you love and go on a journey together. I love that like books they help you understand human nature a lot more; they lead you to realize that there is more out there, that there is a vast world of different personalities and desires and senses of humor, and romances that will never occur, and trains that will never be caught, yet at the same time there are mountains that will be climbed and rivers that will be crossed. There’s magic and fantasy and other galaxies. There’s time travel and hidden treasures and unexpected guests. There’s love and heartbreak and everything in between.

If you are what you love, then I am a kaleidoscope of stories. I seek adventure and romance like the kinds I read about in books. I love to dance and shout at concerts, and blast music in my car. I love taking pictures, especially polaroids, of my experiences, because they make me feel like the main character of a film. I love to write about all these things because the more I learn to love and appreciate stories, the more I embrace my own life story.

By embracing what you love, you embrace who you are. As Taylor Swift said, “step into the daylight and let it go.” As I learn to let go of the things that take away my peace, things like worry, fear for the future, pressure I place on myself, and perfectionism to name a few, I am closer to becoming the embodiment of everything I love. I believe that that love shines brighter than daylight, because the God I love placed those interests on my heart.