Taylor Swift's "LWYMMD" — The Comeback Anthem We Need in 2018

A year ago Taylor Swift disappeared. After a very public break-up and rebound she made a song with her friend Zayn and then melted into the background. Since her first album came out, Taylor Swift has been in the spotlight as a serial monogamist and has been praised and lauded for her open diary policy displayed in her albums. Fans will defend the songstress to their graves while critics will take apart her every action to prove their point, that she's an attention seeking, flighty girl with little patience. She's a lightning rod for just about every kind of gossip. It is no surprise, then, that her latest album got either applauded or criticized by just about every person and news outlet I know.

"Look What You Made Me Do" was the first single released from her 6th studio album, Reputation. This song has been picked apart by fans and critics alike. It has been months since its release and I can say with complete confidence that as we go into the new year, leaving all the worst of 2017 behind us, "LWYMMD" is the song we need to bounce back and make 2018 an amazing year!

When she began releasing music for her latest album I was about as pumped as any fan. I stayed up, refreshing my iTunes, waiting for it to hit my library and then pieced apart the lyrics to determine what my favorite musician has been up to for the last year. I was sitting at my friend's house when it finally popped into my library and we stared at each other as we listened to the first piece of new music from our idol! The beat was bumpin and the lyrics painted a vivid picture. Immediately I was googling Kanye's "tilted stage" to show my friend. Afterward we discussed how much we loved it! It was different from her other albums, it seemed a good start to a new era. As the weeks went on I heard a lot of opinions on the song, a lot of them were negative. I heard "Taylor needs to grow up and move on" and I thought about that for a while. Was I wrong about the song? Was this a whiney song from a little girl who hadn't gotten her way?As the rest of the album came out I got a clearer picture of Taylor's year and her evolution into who she is today. The whole album gives a picture of a woman who's been through the ringer. She is acknowledging her mistakes and allowing herself to move on from them. She knows who the important people are in her life and she has removed the toxic people. "LWYMMD" is a perfect depiction of this evolution.

The song starts by retelling the story, how she got here. She trusted someone sketchy, they stabbed her in the back, she got up, she got tough, she put them on her list. "Look what you made me do," she croons, almost as if to say, "You made me strong, smarter, less naïve, thanks!"

2017 has not been great for America. I don't even watch the news anymore there's too much hate and anger... we need a come back. We need to be stronger, smarter, and less naïve. That being said, thanks to some brave women and men, the last part of this year has been cathartic. We're cleaning out the gutters, calling out sexual predators and Taylor Swift was one of those brave people. Her trial was one of the first events in a series of Hollywood and Washington officials being called out for thinking their power meant they were above common decency and humanity. I think it's time American's start shouting "LWYMMD" to all those who think they are better than the law, better than any other person, better than values and justice.

To Roy Moore, look what you made us do. To Harvey Weinstein, look what you made us do. To white supremacists, look what you made us do. To every other creep out there who thinks that just because they were born the world should fall at their feet, LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO! We're fighting back, you're on our list, we're done sitting back and letting things happen to us. We'll be the actress' staring in your bad dreams! It's time you realize you are not better than, more pure than, or superior to us in anyway. We are done sweeping it under the rug, we have found our voices, and we will not stop using them.

Welcome to your new era, America! It's time we take back our Reputation and fight for truth, justice, and take back our power, so we can finally show them what they made us do.