On midnight of the 21st of October, Taylor Swift dropped her 10th studio album, Midnights. Completed with 13 tracks and a collaboration with Lana Del Rey, the album consists of Swift’s stories of 13 sleepless nights filled with thoughts of current and past lovers, self-loathing, and revenge. 

Her album opens up with “Lavender Haze.” In the song, Swift sings about happily loving your partner by ignoring outside influences that can stop you from loving them.

“Snow on the Beach” describes the beautiful feeling of falling in love with someone.

“Labyrinth” explains Swift was overcoming past heartbreak following a painful experience through a new romantic interest.

“Sweet Nothing” is about Swift’s appreciation of the peace a partner can bring living in a chaotic world.

But relationships are not always happy, having their struggles, which Swift talks about in “The Great War.” In this song, she sings about resisting the desire to let past relationships ruin her current one by doubting her mind.

When fans had finished listening to the brand-new album, they were ready for another surprise. Swift surprised her audience a few hours after the release of Midnights with seven additional songs she had written while making Midnights‘ 13 magical songs. Midnights (3 am Edition), which has seven other songs, completes the 20-song list taking listeners about 70 minutes to finish.

“Bigger Than the Whole Sky,” from the 3 am Edition, reflects the goodbye to a lost loved one and the doubt and grief it may cause to experience. Many think the song might be referring to the emotional despair associated with miscarriage based on lyrics that refer to loss and never being to meet.

Maturing through relationships, Swift’s spectrum of music expands to a new level. Swift writes impactful lyrics that can inspire others to never give up on love and see relationships in a realistic light rather than just searching for the positive side of love.

In the Billboard Hot 100, all 10 top spots are filled with works from Swift’s collection, making her the first artist in history to achieve this accomplishment.

Lauren Ybarra, a sophomore at Cypress, expressed her love and excitement for Swift’s album.

“For my favorite song, I would say You’re on Your Own Kid because it has an amazing bridge. After her last few albums, she went back to pop, so I was just wowed by it. I really love it.” She continued saying, “I really liked the Bejeweled music video. It has so many easter eggs for her upcoming album, so I was going crazy over it.”

Justin Vo, another student attending Cypress, talked about Swift’s work.

“It’s really good, and after a really long time of just pre-recordings, it’s really refreshing.” “Question…? would be my favorite song on the album. There’s a variety, but in the album, I would recommend everyone to listen to Maroon.”

It’s easy to recall regrets and painful memories when you’re up late and lost in your thoughts. Swift’s Midnights ideally help us see a new perspective on relationships and help us find hope in her words.