Some songs resonate with people because of the melody or lyricism Others are less a performance and rather a revealing confession. These songs create a deeper connection, and for me, one of those songs is Taylor Swift’s “This is Me Trying”. The ninth song on her Folklore album, which resonates with me because the central message of the song, dealing with unmet expectations and always trying to reach for them, despite everything. 

A line that holds relevance to me is, “I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere,” which means that she was smarter or higher-skilled than others, like the top of a grading curve, but then everyone caught up, and she fell behind, looping her back to the beginning, the bottom. This line is effective because it showcases how I sometimes feel as an overachiever who occasionally falls behind and then feels lost due to the widening gap between others and me. I like to keep myself busy with work and responsibilities, but those tasks can pile up, leaving me to feel like I am doing the worst. A song like this showcases the feeling that is not so unique to me and is shared by many others.

Another line that resonates with me is that repeated chorus line, “That this is me trying. At least I'm trying,” because of the overall message the song holds, which is that she continues to move forward even if she is struggling to keep herself up. This is something that I have felt subjected to, whether it was because I put it upon myself or not, as there were times when I felt like I could not continue and had to give up one of my responsibilities. So, “This is Me Trying" by Taylor Swift is a piece of media I resonate with because of the emotional appeal I feel towards needing to meet expectations and continuing to try.