I’m a bit of a Swiftie, and I would have loved to see Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. I didn’t know much about her until I picked up her Lover CD a couple of years ago. The car is the only place I can still play CDs, so I found myself listening to the whole album on repeat, driving from A to B.
The apprentice at my hairdresser’s managed to get tickets to The Eras Tour in Melbourne, and she absolutely loved it. Before she went, she made lots of friendship bracelets — which is all part of the culture surrounding Taylor’s shows. When she got back, she told me her seats were really far away from the stage, but she said it didn’t matter. It wasn’t about the view — it was about being there, feeling the energy, and being part of the crowd.
Taylor Swift has a song called “22,” and during her shows, when she performs it, she gives her hat to a pre-selected fan in the crowd. Below is a video from one of her concerts in Melbourne, where she gave her hat to a beautiful 9 year old girl who has terminal brain cancer.
I don’t know why, but that video really got to me. Scarlett was so sweet and so excited when she briefly met Taylor Swift. After that, I started following Scarlett’s stepmother on Instagram.
She posted that Scarlett’s birthday was coming up in May and asked people from all around the world to send birthday cards saying where they were from. I sent her a message and asked if I could send a present, and she gave me an address to send it to.
But before I had the chance to send anything, there was a message on her stepmother’s Instagram saying that Scarlett had taken a turn for the worse and might not even make it to her birthday. The post said she was in Perth Children’s Hospital, so I decided to send her an anonymous bunch of balloons — the ones pictured below.
The people who put the balloons together sent me the photos.
"From one Swiftie to another, I want to let you know I am thinking of you and sending you all my love."
I remember when I was young and naive, living for a time in Tanzania. I used to have long conversations with a Catholic priest there, and I’d ask him how he could believe in a God when children get sick and die. I asked him that because, in Tanzania, that’s the reality for so many children — not only those who die young, but also those who grow up in extreme poverty.
Scarlett's situation has reminded me of those conversations.
This beautiful young girl had every right to grow up and travel the world, to try out as many careers as she wanted, to live her dreams. She had every right to become a woman, to fall in love, to get married — or not — and to have children of her own, if she chose.
It is just so fucking unfair that she has been robbed of all of that — by what can only be a cruel and merciless God.
