Yes, I'm a Swiftie, and here's one reason why ...

(Taylor Swift)

Amid the challenges of our world today, I've found solace in the music of Taylor Swift: specifically, in being able to connect with my daughters in yet another meaningful way. 

I've (not so secretly) always been a Swiftie, ever since "Teardrops on My Guitar" broke out as her first single in Canada. Even today, I still reflexively sing the words to the bridge of Fearless ("It's the first kiss, it's flawless, really something...") and can recall many a karaoke night of singing 22 (ten years older, of course) or the times my friends and I blasted Blank Space out the window while cruising around downtown Toronto or on the Jersey Shore. 

It's testament to Ms. Swift as an artist, no doubt, but also more importantly, to the magic that happens for parents when you and your little ones enjoy the same things. 

Sure, there's work to be done in helping them interpret the deeper meanings behind some of the songs, or teaching around music, ambition, grit, working hard, etc. (recall Taylor's first interview with Tim McGraw where she just went for it)

But for now, I'm simply enjoying the fact that we share something in common, and that yes, even if some of the songs are predictable or similar sounding after a while, my daughters will always remember that dad (and mom) enjoyed singing along. 

To this day, the classics from Teresa Teng that my parents played on our grocery runs to Chinatown in Toronto still evoke the same memories for me. Even if Chinese music isn't now as much a part of my everyday, those songs still bring me back to my childhood, much as Mark Forster's "Lok auf zwei Beinen" returns me to a lakehouse at the Junggesellenabschied (stag party) in Germany for a brother from a different mother, or as the beats of Black Jonas Point on my iPod infuses emotions from Dominican nights in La Romana; we were young and filled with hope. 

In my draft memoir on life lessons from pandemic leadership, I touch on this idea: the concept of finding joy in the soundtrack of our life; of how taking note of the music that surrounds us in our day to day will allow us at a later date to engage in nostalgia, draw energy for the present, and use lessons and insights from the past to to chart our course to the future. 

My hope is that my daughters and I might well listen to "Cruel Summer" in the future, grateful for a moment together that recalls fond memories of their childhood (and their humorous potty remix of the bridge) while reminding them that Dad and Mom are always on their side. 

That, as always, leaves me with gratitude for what Taylor Swift and all the artists out there who create and share of themselves, and by doing so bring vibrancy to the backing track of our everyday lives while fashioning an important key to finding meaning in our past while nurturing relationships. 

This post originally appeared on Lawrence's LinkedIn profile.