Another Country Music Association Festival, a.k.a. Fan Fair, just wrapped up here in Nashville, and all the celebrity buzz got me to to thinking about the way kids look up to celebrities, whether they're musicians, movie stars, athletes or reality "stars." I certainly don't want my kids to aspire to be like . . . Snooki! Shudder.
Did you know that earlier this year superstar Taylor Swift donated 14,000 books to the Nashville Public Library system? That donation came on the heels of her $68,000 donation in 2011 to libraries in Pennsylvania where she was born. Now that makes me feel good about the fact that so many girls look up to this young woman who could have done anything with that money--and she chose to support reading!
I've sat through many a recital and talent show listening to young girls strum their pink guitars and sing their hearts out to those early Taylor Swift songs. Clearly, her lyrics connect with her listeners. Who am I kidding? I'm a grown woman and many of them speak to me, or at least to the girl I once was at fifteen. But I knew I was hooked when Swift released Love Story, a nod to Shakespeare's classic tale of star-crossed lovers, complete with an allusion to Nathaniel Hawthorne's Hester Prynne!
It is a rare girl above the age of six who cannot sing the lyrics to Love Story flawlessly. Swift's song provides a relatable, fun way to connect kids born after Y2K to the greatest playwright of all time. And she donates books! Now that truly deserves some fanfare.
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