Taylor J. Swift talks sharing her name with Taylor A. Swift – Us Weekly

Somewhere out there is someone who shares the same name as your favorite pop star – turns out someone is Taylor J. Swiftdirector of government capacity at the POPVOX Foundation.

Swift, 30, opened up about sharing her name with the mega-famous pop star, Taylor A. Swiftwho recently released his 11th studio album, The Department of Tortured Poetsin an essay published by Business Insider on April 20.

According to Taylor J., he was 15 when he first heard of the singer. “At first I thought, it’s no big deal, she’s a singer with one or two hit songs, it won’t affect me, but I was wrong,” he shared.

At first, Taylor J. admitted he found the similarity frustrating, especially as a teenager who had just started at a new school. “I had a Justin Bieber haircut, I had glasses and I was on the debate team, it was not a fun time,” he explained.

“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 made jokes about my name didn’t help,” Taylor J. added. “When 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. Taylor J. decided to “run with” the name Taylor Swift, instead of an abbreviation like “TJ.”

“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,” he said. “I love my name and I think it has helped me more than hurt me, even at work.”

He explained that having a name like “Taylor Swift” makes it memorable to “new staffers, new constituents, new legislators or interns,” which is useful to him when working at a place like POPVOX , which “works to inform and empower people and to make government work better for everyone,” according to the foundation’s website.

“It’s nice to have something that helps you stand out — for me, it’s my name,” Taylor J. said, adding that he often makes jokes about Taylor Swift and uses her lyrics in a conversation to make others feel “less weird” about his name, even congressional interns.

“To make them feel less weird, I pause, get on the mic and say, ‘Yes, my name is Taylor Swift.’ Feel free to make jokes, I’ll get rid of them later, a Taylor Swift reference,” he shared. “Then everyone laughs and they feel more comfortable.”

He added: “Political work can be stressful, so if making a joke about my name makes people laugh, smile or remember me, I do it. » He noted that he would ask the press to call him Taylor J. Swift in quotes so that no one would confuse him with the singer. “That way no one wonders why Taylor Swift (without the J) is talking about modernization and congressional oversight,” he joked.

Despite the benefits of having a name like Taylor Swift, Taylor J. admitted that it takes a little extra work to get new people to take it 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 sort of meeting, they see that I am serious about the work that we do,” Taylor J. said.

“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.”

He concluded: “I think now that if my name is the biggest fight I have in life, I’m fine. It seems trivial to believe otherwise.