Meet Me At Midnight

The story of a Swiftie on the Sidelines.

This is not an article dissecting theories about how the Midnights album and era have been foreshadowed.

This is not an article looking for every Easter egg, which Taylor has lovingly and probably painstakingly added with nuance to every interview, social and media post for the last 2–3 years, and every outfit she’s been seen in since announcing the album at the 2022 VMAs in August.

No, this is the story of how I found and fell in love with her music.

The Intro

In 2004, I was an incoming freshman at the University of Florida.

I was randomly matched with a roommate in the dorms, and Katie and I got along pretty well right away.

Katie and I ended up becoming best friends and living and working together for the next 5 years in Gainesville, Florida.

Katie came from Ohio but was a country girl at heart. She loved country music, cowboy boots, and even trying line dancing.

I was a scene kid in high school who loved underground punk rock shows, Warped Tour, and you could pry my Dickies pants and disgusting Converse from my cold, dead hands.

We became best friends.