Run. Not from anything but for something, or maybe simply for the sake of running.
Run. Adventure is out there.

-SL

"She played too long, the skits became tiresome, but last night I saw the future of the music industry, and it was HEARTWARMING and EXCITING! I got there during Kellie Pickler's set. I expected glitz. But what I got was a crack band, and rather than an overemoting "American Idol" contestant, a woman who was thrilled to be there, thrilled to be performing to this audience of peers and soon to be peers.

During the intermission this cauldron of estrogen typed text messages to the Verizon screens. There were none of the salacious and snarky comments of the hipsters, just endless expressions of friendship and love for Taylor. About to go to the bathroom, I was confronted with Ms. Swift on the big screen. Talking about being friendless in high school, but having something special. She urged those in attendance not to feel bad if they didn't fit in, if you were pursuing your dream, your time would come.

And then I RAN out for my pee, figuring there would be more interstitial material before Taylor took the stage that I didn't want to miss. And I was confronted with a vast wasteland. Barely a soul in the halls. Everyone was INSIDE the arena. This wasn't a perfunctory show, but an EXPERIENCE! They were bonding, they didn't want to miss a moment. I was aghast at the dancers in the opening number. Was this necessary? Kellie Pickler had done without, she'd relied solely on the music. Thank god, this was about it for bouncing bodies, the music took over. There were endless costume changes, all this peripheral shit that I deemed superfluous, but was obviously the fantasy of a nineteen year old. One with a bunch of hits who'd earned the right to do it HER way. It was quite clearly her show. No adults saying no, just the endless hopes and fantasies of a teenager.

I'd played both albums incessantly in order to prepare. But no matter how many times I'd heard them, I was no match for the girls in the audience. THEY SANG EACH AND EVERY WORD! It was like a school exam, one that got you the date of a lifetime, one that gave you the keys to the kingdom. They WANTED to know these songs, they were the story of their life. I've been going to shows for decades and I've NEVER EVER heard the audience sing along like this. To say it put a smile on my face would not convey the unbridled thrill I got being there. This was what music was supposed to be, not posing, not attitude, but JOY!

Even the six year old behind me in a newly-purchased t-shirt was singing along. They'd bought "Fearless" and played it in their bedrooms, when their friends were over, when they were depressed, when they were happy. That's what music is...ACCOMPANIMENT! And now you can take it along with you, on your iPod. Music is EVERYWHERE! And you HAD to go to this underpriced show (top ticket $59.50), it was a tribal rite.

"You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors
It's the morning of your very first day"

Do you remember high school? Both the trepidation and the hope? Wanting to date a senior but believing he has no idea you exist? That's a story Taylor Swift told. She had it right. AND THE AUDIENCE KNEW IT!

"'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them"

You still want to believe them, no matter how old you are. It's just that attrition sets in, you want to have hope... Listening to Taylor Swift's music gives you hope. Does it last? Does it matter? A decade ago girl power was represented by the Spice Girls, a manufactured act that neither wrote nor played, and it was dubious as to their singing abilities. Taylor Swift is the OPPOSITE! She's the veritable BEATLES! The fact that she writes her own material makes all the difference. There's an honesty that cannot be denied. Her looks are secondary. And when she actually picked a lead on her acoustic guitar you could see Guitar Center's stock go up. Youngsters model after their heroes. If Taylor Swift can do it, I CAN TOO!

Instead of Mariah Carey clones, melisma-popping girls with their hands in the air singing bland crap, we're going to have a generation of empowered women needing to state their truth, delivering something that starts in the head and the heart as opposed to the office of a plastic surgeon. No one's done as much for women's music since JONI MITCHELL!

Highlights? ALL THE HITS! Singing "Teardrops On My Guitar" at the other end of the arena... If you haven't been in love with someone who hasn't loved you, you're not alive. If only you could TELL THEM! But you can't. The rejection would just be too painful, you'd be MORTIFIED! So you've got this secret crush, that can go on for years. "Hey Stephen", with its jaunty groove that forces your toes to tap and head to bob involuntarily. The lyrics of obsession are just the cherry on top. "Tim McGraw", introduced in a video by the man himself. "Should Have Said No". Why do people cheat and lie?

Most of the hit crap is massaged by middle-aged people, giving the public what it thinks it wants. But this filtered crap bears no resemblance to reality. But Taylor Swift's music is direct from her to you.

"You should have said no
You should have gone home
You should have thought twice before you let it all go
You should have known that word 'bout what you did with her'd, get back to me
And I should have been there, in the back of your mind
Shouldn't be asking myself why
You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet
You should have said no
Baby and you might still have me"

They say that feminism has taken a hit. That little girls want to dress like whores and trade on their sexuality. But Taylor Swift sacrifices neither her femininity nor her dignity. You don't have to play by a man's rules, and you have the right to call out bad behavior. That's an ongoing theme in Taylor's work, expressing hurt, pain, wanting to set wrongs right. Fascinating in a culture where everybody's supposed to be a winner, where you can't show vulnerability, where you put on a smile and bury your feelings. But obviously Taylor's got it right. This gig was SOLD OUT! Even the UPPER DECK, high above the three rows of luxury boxes, was full. And that's almost like viewing a show from the OUTSIDE! There were no losers. No moments when you went out for a pee and a pretzel. But the true highlight was "White Horse".

Oftentimes during the show Taylor would just stand there, drinking up the applause, not like a pro, but someone reveling in having made it, basking in the acceptance, FINALLY! And after one of these long pauses, launching back into patter, and Taylor spoke regularly, it was an ongoing conversation with the audience, she told the assembled multitude how great they were and said they deserved a special guest. JOHN MAYER! I was stunned. He's not country. And he's not female.But Taylor Swift isn't country either. Occasionally a banjo was featured, but this was pure rock and roll. More guitars than you see at a classic rock show, no tapes, no hard drives. Top Forty is for drum machines, for altered voices, country's for music.

There was a big roar. But there wasn't the love for the rendition of "Your Body Is A Wonderland" that I expected. But then John switched from an acoustic to an electric, the same worn-out Fender that he uses to play those Stevie Ray Vaughan licks, and Taylor started picking out the notes on her acoustic...

"That face of an angel comes out
Just when you need it to
As I pace back and forth all this time
'Cause I honestly believed in you"

This ain't revenge rock. This isn't accusatory, rather the protagonist is disappointed, and is doing her best to display strength.

"I'm not a princess
This ain't a fairy tale
I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet
Lead her up the stairwell
This ain't Hollywood
This is a small town
I was a dreamer before you went and let me down
Now it's too late for you and your white horse
To come around"

Actually, this was Hollywood. But almost none of the throng in attendance will achieve any fame. They'll have victories and disappointments. They'll go to school, get married, have jobs and children. Hopefully they'll avoid the diversion of drugs in the fast lane of life depicted in a media that's full of sensationalism but absent much reality. Life's the same for everybody. You start off scared, knowing nothing. And by time you realize nobody knows anything, that the bullies and those screaming from the pulpit are full of shit, no smarter than you, it's too late, your skin has sagged, you're over the hill. Money matters, but it's not everything. A smile on the face of a loved one, helping another...they can make you just as happy as the billionaire, if not happier.

But suddenly the "artists" were aligned with the billionaires. It became about lifestyle, separating yourself from your fans. But on her way back from performing in the rafters Taylor stopped and hugged fan after fan. Because she knew what it meant to them. And what they mean to her. We're in it together. There's no show without an audience. And an audience is drawn to flash once. But to sustain a career, you've got to deliver more than a momentary hit, more than train-wreck value.

Taylor Swift has earned her headliner status. And she delivered on it. My complaints as to length and style are irrelevant. She did it her way. And that's all that matters in this life, having no regrets. Wall Street told us they had the economy handled. Clive Davis told us if we just did it his way music would not only survive, but be great. But they were both full of shit. As the Beatles once sang, you've got to think for yourself. Taylor Swift heeded their advice. And by hewing to her own line as opposed to someone else's she's inspiring a generation of young women. And me too.

She made me a believer. Not only in her, but music and the music business. If someone as great as Taylor Swift can make it, think of all the great acts to come!

I love this and I think so many times we wish we had someone to fill the void, but so often that person doesn’t always fill the spot we’re looking for.

“Wait for the person who pursues you, the one who will make an ordinary moment seem magical, the kind of person who brings out the best in you and makes you want to be a better person. Wait for the person who will be your best friend, the only person who will drop everything to be with you at any time no matter what the circumstances, for the person who makes you smile like no one else and when they smile you know they need you. Wait for the person who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweat and a t-shirt, but appreciates it when you get dressed up for them. and most of all wait for the person who will put you at the center of their universe, because that’s where you belong.”

“I really don’t know what ‘I love you’ means. I think it means, ‘Don’t leave me here alone.'"

Sonnet by Neil Gaiman

Don't ever forget to see the magic in the world,
because if we're willing, the world has so much to offer.

Take a look at yourself in the mirror, who do you see looking back? Is it the person you want to be? Or is there someone else you were meant to be - the person you should have been but fell short of? Is someone telling you you cant? Or you wont? Because you can. Believe that love is our there. Believe that dreams come true every day, because they do. Sometimes happiness doesn't come from money, fame or power. Sometimes happiness comes from good friends and family and from the quiet nobility of leading a good life. Believe that dreams come true every day, because they do. So take a look in that mirror and remind yourself to be happy because you deserve to be.

Believe that and believe that dreams come true every day, because they do.

“We must overcome the notion that we must be regular…it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre.”

— Uta Hagen

"Why is it that when we are sitting at traffic lights and the person ahead of you moves up, so then you move up. We think we're making good time... 'Wow I moved up 9 inches, now I can stop for coffee and a danish before work!'"

"Today is the day my life begins, today I become a citizen of the world, today I become a grownup. Today I become accountable to someone other than myself and my parents, accountable for more than my grades. Today I become accountable to the world, to the future, to all the possibilities that life has to offer. Starting today, my job is to show up, wide eyed, and willing, and ready, for what, I don’t know, for anything, for everything. To take on life. To take on love, to take on the responsibility and possibility, today my friends our lives begin, and I for one can’t wait."

Go get 'em Lauren. I'll be here cheering you on. Today is the day your life begins.

"God will never give you anything you can't handle. He hands you the situation and then asks you to use Him to get through it. So we always get through it."

It's like I'm at the end of my emotions, watching the shadows burn in the dark and I'm in love and I'm terrified for the first time. I only said it because I mean it. I only mean it because it's true. So don't you doubt hat I've been dreaming because it leads me up, holds me close - whenever I'm without you. I can be all that you need if you let me try.

I did it! I graduated. I didn't fall when I walked across the stage - I made it. Here's to the next chapter. In the words of Miss Rachel Johnson -
I COMMENCED.
I saw.
I conquered.
We did it. Three years going strong. Who would have thought.

As we go on, we remember
All the times we had together
And as our lives change, from whatever
We will still be, friends forever

Listen carefully: you will fail here. All of you. College is not the culmination of your high school career. It is the beginning of your adult life. Only it is a slow sweet beginning that feels nothing like what life and all the attending obligations will eventually bring. So fail here… This is your chance.

Do things you know you can’t do, or think you can’t do but hope in your deepest most secret hidden heart that you can.

Be bad at things. Be embarrassed. Be vulnerable. Go out on a limb. Or two. Or twelve. The harder you fall, the farther you’ll rise. And the louder you fail, the clearer the distant bell of your future will ring. Failure is a gift. Welcome it. There are people who spend their lives wondering how they became the people they became, how certain chances passed them by and why they didn’t take the road less traveled. Those people are not you.

You have the front-row seat to your own transformation. And in transforming yourself, you might just transform the world. Believe that, and embrace the new person you’re becoming. This is your moment. Now. Not ten minutes from now, not tomorrow, really now. Know that, truly in your bones, and wake up each morning remembering it. And then keep going.