I’m a 7-Year-Old Swiftie: Here’s Why Taylor Swift Is a Role Model for Girls Like Me | Opinion

My name is Amaya Grace Montgomery. I’m seven years old and in second grade. And I’m a Swiftie.

That means I’m a huge Taylor Swift fan. I first heard Taylor Swift when I was only a year old. My favorite song back then was “Shake It Off.” Now it’s “Cruel Summer” on her album “Lover.”

But I’m not just a fan — because Taylor Swift is not just a good musician. Taylor Swift is a role model for girls like me. That’s why I’m writing this: My mom read me something that said Taylor is not a good role model. It really upset me. So I wanted to speak up for little girls and explain why we disagree.

You don’t have to be married and have kids to be a good role model. To be a good role model, you have to be kind, sweet, generous, and smart. And you have to give girls a sense of power—girl power—and that we can make our own decisions. A good role model makes you feel powerful and that you have to use your power to be kind and generous.

That’s what Taylor Swift does: Taylor Swift is girl power. And she’s nice. And because she’s both, she makes us feel like we can be both. And that’s a very good thing!

I think that’s what makes Taylor Swift so special: she’s a nice person AND she is a good singer. She is a good musician who writes good songs that people love to sing over and over again, AND she helps people by giving money. She gives money to soup kitchens in every city she visits. She gives huge bonuses to people who work for her. She gives so much money to people in need. I admire that. She is a role model.

I don’t care who Taylor dates. I’m interested in the music. I’m interested in the generosity.

I do not want to be Exactly like Taylor Swift, because I’m scared to perform in front of a lot of people. But she makes me feel brave. She makes me feel happy and excited when I sing her songs.

She writes all her own songs and plays three instruments. One of her instruments is the guitar. I wanted to play the guitar because of her, and my mom bought me one.

Do I think Taylor can change the world? Maybe. Her music brings people together. She gives out friendship bracelets because she wants everyone to be friends. That’s what a role model does.

That’s why Taylor is so popular with young girls, but also older girls and women. She makes us feel like we too can be talented and kind. Every time you sing one of her songs to her, you feel like you’re connecting with a generous, kind, intelligent, talented person who uses her gifts for good.

This is the definition of a role model.

I’m proud to be a Swiftie. Now you know why.

Amaya lives in Spring, Texas, with her family. She wants to be a scientist when she grows up. Her mother, Emeri Montgomery, is the director of audience affairs at Newsweek.