𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 | 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗻𝗼𝘄?

For those enchanted by the fleeting. For those pulled by the sparks flying. For those wishing to go back to December, them, or everything. For those caught between love, growth, and the agony of why they cannot seem to capture both.

There are anthems we listen to and hear pieces of truth from; for some, there are lyrical masterpieces that strike like love letters to the soul. While we hold dearly to the past and peek relentlessly at the future, the question is, why should we speak now?

Taylor Swift has emerged as one of the biggest stars in the global music industry. Thirteen years ago, she was just that young girl who spoke timeless truths for every young adult trying to live the best of every era at their hands while figuring out where to place everything else.

With 10 studio albums depicting diverse genres, narratives, and aesthetics, every Swiftie relates almost as if there is no original human experience left to parade because her songs spell out everything from infatuations to love to heartbreak and even, to karma.

Picking a favorite album is like lighting a wildfire of debates, but as the re-recording spotlight hits the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) album, now is time to sing our hearts out and discover love amidst chaos, realizations, potentials, and regrets that live to be mere inspirations.

Spoken for Mine, Ours, and Sparks flying

As we venture to a new era of discovering that life after teenage years is no fairytale, this album speaks to remind us that in between the running time we simply cannot get a hold of, we still have the option to stop and steer far from the nosy interventions of others.

Amid the demands of the world, we are allowed to be young, fun, and present. We can savor every moment because while the rest of the universe is busy conspiring to lay down every unthinkable conflict, we can breathe and say, “And life makes love look hard. The stakes are high, the water's rough. But this love is ours.”

And while we can still love like it is the top priority on our non-existent lists, we should take this as our cue. Sit by the water, drop everything, meet in the pouring rain because as much as we want to preserve and hold onto things—the next thing we know, we are either torn between revenge, being haunted, or sending loveless letters.

Dear You—Haunted, Mean, and *Not* Innocent

As Taylor has written the album as an evident letter of who she is as a phenomenal artist; Speak Now is not all mindless love because on the other side of the table, she brought angst and grit to the table way before Reputation hit the records.

When we are young and in love, we fixate on the positive things that make the story impeccably straight out of a young adult fiction novel, but the thing is, love like Taylor has range and this album did not falter to prove that.

When we grow out of our hometown-shaped cradles, we learn that sometimes love is not a scrapbook of perfect pictures. We pick up our ugly experiences and turn them into something unhinged but genuine.

As we find ourselves stuck in a college dorm room or in unmoving traffic, we remember our most traumatizing heartbreaks. Along with it, we raise the questions we never found answers to, and frustratingly, we find ourselves asking, “What’s better than revenge?”

For those still asking and refusing to accept shallow answers, let yourself be synced with Haunted, Dear John, and Story of Us. Feel your humanity in the heartbreaks that seem like the end of your world. Be the main character like the one we can seem to vividly recall from the Better than Revenge music video, which most cannot recall where they saw.

Perhaps Taylor is right: some are just experts in sorry, but this phase is not the highlight of everything. If all they can be is mean, Speak Now has better suggestions for us.

Look Back, Last Kiss, Long Live

Sometimes we wish that we would never grow up.

We long to stay as little as we can and cling onto our safety nets—the familiarity keeps us grounded. But as Speak Now transformed Taylor from a country musician to a multi-awarded global sensation, we can see that while growth can uproot and pain us, it is always the next thinkable step.

There are times that we question the directions we pick, other times we feel like we have everything figured out. As nostalgic as this album gets, it ironically tells us that regardless of whether what holds us back is beautiful, traumatizing, or unfinished, if it asks us to go, then, we must.

If we could go back to December or anywhere else, that might be promising, but if we were to speak now—our words, our truths, and everything else that has shaped us—came from every hard-hitting heartbreak, unfinished love stories, separation anxieties, that crumbled us down make us who we are now.

This special album in the prettiest shade of violet is an enchanted piece of proof that we can all relate with our shared experience of finding something beautiful, seeing the flaws, but still realizing that it will always be a part of our lives worth remembering and looking back on.

We speak now because we are built from the walls we crashed through and the dragons we have slain. Though we only get to watch our lives in pictures soon enough, there is a satisfying nod in knowing that we can look back and watch all the magic we made.

Speak Now, Shine On

This violet album is the real definition of an actual rollercoaster of emotions. After more than a decade, we will listen to it again, with newer perspectives. Regardless if we are in love, in pain, or in denial of our imperative jump to growth, more than ever, we have plenty of stories that will fuel us to shine.

For those still enchanted by the fleeting. For those pushing away the sparks flying. For those letting go of the idea to go back to December, them, or everything.

For those haunted yet accepting that between love, growth, and agony, it is never just a choice out of the three, there are anthems we listen to and hear pieces of truth from; for some, there are lyrical masterpieces that strike like love letters to the soul.

Let us pause from holding dearly onto the past and sit back from peeking relentlessly into the future, then quit the queues of everything else as we love, grow, and speak now.

Article: Sharona Nicole Semilla

Graphics: Rhea Dianne Macasieb