Every once in a while, I find a song that speaks to me in some way (and it usually has a beat and you can dance to it) and I end up listening to it over and over and over again every day for several weeks. With this one, I have even watched the video (multiple times) and looked up who all the people in the video are and what her Easter eggs in the video mean. It’s very interesting and you should check it out if you’re nerdy like me. My latest song addiction is Taylor Swift’s “You Need To Calm Down” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkk9gvTmCXY) There are several messages for me:

Say it in the street, that’s a knock-out
But you say it in a Tweet, that’s a cop-out

To me, this speaks to internet trolls. One of my greatest fears as a blogger is hurtful comments about one of my blog posts. I’ve had a taste of it once already on another page and I didn’t like it. I know I shouldn’t worry about it, and I know that if they really, truly cared so much THEY would be blogging . . . but they aren’t. People can do really awful things behind the cloak of the internet. Something about that makes people really brave. Think the Wizard of Oz. I should feel sorry for them that they feel the need to bully others online to make themselves look bigger. News flash! It doesn’t. It makes them look like the trolls they are. So if you have a comment to make, if it’s positive, please post it so everyone can see it but if it is negative, please send me (or the author) a private message. I’ve had lots of friends send me messages about typos in my proofreading blog (OOPS!) and I truly appreciate that.

And control your urges to scream about all the people you hate
‘Cause shade never made anybody less gay

This was actually the first line I heard that made me find the song. Indeed, shade never does make anybody less gay. I have many gay friends and family members and I love them all equally. Them being gay doesn’t affect me. It is THEIR lifestyle, not mine. Most of the homosexual couples I know have far better relationships than most heterosexual couples I know. Just mind your own business. And thanks to Taylor for actually saying it.

Like can you just not step on my gown?
You need to calm down

This is one of my favorite lines. To me it means that you’re getting into my space and stepping on my beautiful glittery gown because you’re upset about something dumb. Get. Off. My. Gown. Go be grumpy all by yourself off in a corner somewhere and quit dirtying up my space.

And we see you over there on the internet
Comparing all the girls who are killing it
But we figured you out
We all know now we all got crowns

But these lines are the essence of why I love this song. You can’t compare yourself to anyone else. As I’ve said before, you can’t compare your life to someone else’s highlight reel. Those people you follow on Instagram? That could be their only job. The authors, singers, podcasters, actors, all the successful people we follow and want to be just like? They’ve worked really hard (and probably a really long time) to get where they are. It wasn’t overnight. And it usually wasn’t without lots of help. So keep pushing forward. Keep doing what you’re doing. If you need help, ask for it. If you need training, get it. Do what you need to do to be where you want to be. That is all on you. Nobody else can make that happen for you.

But my favorite part is that we’ve ALL got crowns. Some are super glittery and out there for everyone to see (usually in Instagram) and some are nearly invisible, but they are there. We are ALL worthy, we are ALL amazing people, we are ALL successful if we work hard to be. Don’t compare yourself to others. Just be you! Then there’s no competition!

But remember, if someone is struggling and you can help, do! As they say, what goes around comes around. Another of my favorite sayings is:

Now I need to go find a nice crown to go with my beautiful glittery gown. Wanna come?