Taylor Swift is 20—the same age as many of you and yet in that moment she was able to transform herself into an adult. I think, by her being the bigger person and simply standing there, she showed that she had a true sense of grace and an understanding of social etiquette. Swift, as you can see from her reaction in the CNN video below, continued to be the bigger person despite the Media’s attempt to make her “start something” as she says.

I think this is really important for all of us to remember. I’ve had plenty of situations throughout College where I’ve had to hold my tongue. One great example is when I forgot to print out a paper for class and my professor decided to embarrass me in front of the whole class by saying that my priorities were not in order and obviously my classes did not come first. This real life example is one situation where, despite the fact that I wanted to jump across the classroom and strangle her, I had to keep myself in check. I did, however, approach the Professor after class and tell her I felt that what she did was highly unprofessional and that in the future I would prefer if she refrained from stating my personal business to the entire class. She was, I believe, impressed that I did not retaliate and “embarrass” her in front of the class.

So basically, what I’m trying to tell you is to be strong, hold your tongue sometimes, and learn (as quickly as you can) when you need to do this. Because in the end, it’s always better to be the grown up, no matter how old you are.

Video from CNN:

Clips from the VMAs:

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