- Taylor J. Swift said that in high school he was teased because he had the same name as the famous pop singer.
- In his current job, in politics, he uses his name to stand out and make light-hearted conversations.
- Swift said he had to work for people to take him seriously.
This essay as told is based on a conversation with Taylor J. Swift, a 30-year-old from the POPVOX Foundation in Washington, DC. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I was 15 when I first heard of the singer Taylor Swift. At first I thought it was no big deal, she’s a singer with one or two hit songs, it wouldn’t affect me, but I was wrong. Over time, I began to find it frustrating.
I was just a kid trying to live my life and now I shared a name with a great singer. Plus, I had just moved back to Ohio to live with my dad, so I was the new kid in school, going by the name Taylor Swift. To top it off, I had a Justin Bieber haircut, I had glasses and I was on the debate team, it was not a fun time.
Like most kids, I was trying to figure out who I wanted to be, but a few high school bullies and a choir teacher who joked about my name weren’t helping. When it came time to go to college and I was preparing for a fresh start, I knew I had two choices. I could change my name, or I could start from scratch and accept it.
It took me a long time to realize it, but after a while I decided to run with Taylor Swift instead of choosing the name TJ, an abbreviation of my first and middle names. I remember thinking: I was given this name for a reason, and I’m going to grow up to be who I’m supposed to become with it.
Even though my name comes up in every social interaction, including my political career, I have decided to accept it, have fun with it, and view it as an overall positive. I love my name and I think it has helped me more than hurt, even at work.
My name helps me stand out at work
As someone who works in congressional advocacy, where I help advocate for things like better wages, benefits, and technology, it helps to have a name like mine because people s ‘generally remember it. When I introduce myself to new employees, new constituents, new legislators or interns, they will remember me for weeks or even months later. This is a good thing.
When you’re in my job, you meet a lot of people. At some point it seems very transactional. So it’s nice to have something that helps you stand out: for me, it’s my name. When people remember my name, they also remember the ball I’m trying to move, and that’s what’s important.
I use my name to make conversations lighter
With my job, we have an event where we integrate our Congressional interns into Congress. With this event, our main goal is to help reduce their networking anxiety, and we are trying to show them that their work as interns really matters. At the event, when my name appeared on the big screen in front of about 350 trainees, people in the crowd started laughing. So they think, maybe i shouldn’t laugh.
It’s weird to laugh at someone’s name, I understand. To make them feel less weird, I pause, grab the mic and say, “Yes, my name is Taylor Swift. Feel free to make jokes, I’ll get rid of them later.” a reference to Taylor Swift. . Then everyone laughs and feels more comfortable.
At work, I use other references to song lyrics, like: “I know this project has been difficult, but we’re not out of the woods yet” and “I know, that mistake was my fault.” I’m the problem.'”
Political work can be stressful, so if making a joke about my name makes people laugh, smile, or remember me, I do it.
Getting people to take me seriously takes work
At first, people may wonder: who is this person? How can I trust someone named Taylor Swift? That said, I have to work for people to take me seriously.
In the past, I think my name has confused people a bit. But when I engage in conversation with them, or if I brief a member of Congress, or if I hold some kind of meeting, they see that I take seriously the work that we do. I’m very proud of the work we do, and after a minute or two people see how dedicated I am to the cause we’re working on and my name doesn’t take away from that.
I use my initial to avoid confusion
When I do press interviews, I ask them to please refer to me as Taylor J. Swift, so no one confuses me with the pop singer. This way, no one wonders why Taylor Swift (without the J) is talking about modernization and congressional oversight. I also include the “J” on my business cards or when applying for a job, to avoid confusion.
However, people ask questions. For example, last weekend I booked a dinner for two under the name Taylor Swift. I could tell the hostess seemed a little disappointed when I arrived. As usual they joked that I wasn’t the real Taylor Swift so I just laughed and said, I hear this all the time but I just shake.
I think now that if my name is the biggest struggle I have in life, I’m fine. It seems trivial to believe otherwise.
If your name impacts your career or work and you would like to share your story, please email Manseen Logan at mlagan@businessinsider.com
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