Swifties exist here at the Islands

CI math teacher Mr. German Figueroa, also known as Mr. Fig, is a huge fan of Taylor Swift. 

“I don’t like Taylor Swift,” said Mr. Figueroa. “I love her.” 

Mr. Figueroa is one of many “Swifties” here at the Islands.

Mr. Figueroa’s favorite song from Swift is “Love Story.” He explained that when he listens to the song he “feels like we were really writing it together because that is how we feel about each other.” 

Mr. Figueroa says that Jake Gyllenhaal, Swift’s ex-boyfriend, is “lame.” He later goes on to say that at least he got to listen to a song from Swift after her split.

“I’m really proud of her. I always encourage her to do her best,” Mr. Figueroa says regarding Swift making the Billboard Top 10 with her new album, “Midnights.” He goes on to say that “a billion of those views that Taylor has are from me.” 

Mrs. Jennifer Loper, an English teacher here at Channel Islands, is also an avid Swift fan. She says that her favorite song is “Would Have Should Have Could Have.” She likes that song because of how “it is really upbeat, but at the same time talks about something vulnerable.” 

Mrs. Lopez expresses her opinion on Gyllenhaal stating: “We probably don’t know everything in the relationship, but it sounds that it was pretty toxic.” She doesn’t think very highly in that regard of Gyllenhaal. 

When asked about her favorite Swift era, Mrs.Lopez’s personal favorite is the 1989 era. She says that it’s history how Swift filled up all of the Billboard Top 10 spots. Mrs. Lopez also says that she felt like she contributed to Swift filling the Billboard Top 10 because “I was in the top 0.1 percent of listeners on Spotify, so I definitely feel like I contributed.” 

Mrs. Lopez even went as far as creating an assignment for her students called “All Too Well.” The assignment was about Taylor Swift lyrics and having to describe what the students think the lyrics meant. Lopez put five different but similar quotes and left it up to each student to individually identify what they thought it meant. Students were also asked to identify the figurative language in the song.

There are even some student Swifties at CI. Eduardo Mendoza, a senior and member of the CI Band, said he really likes her music. 

Mendoza has liked Taylor Swift for so many years he doesn’t even remember. Mendoza has a shirt by Taylor Swift.

“Unfortunately that all the merch I have,” he said. “Merch is really expensive.”

Mendoza’s favorite song has to be “Maroon” simply because “I love how it’s really catchy” and how towards the end she starts to use her actual voice to sing.

Mendoza’s thoughts on Jake are “That must have been like a rocky breakup.” Mendoza says that he wishes that he could go to her concert but the tickets are too expensive and “I don’t have any money.” 

Mendoza’s favorite era by Taylor swift is Lover. He likes the aesthetic and he really likes how it’s so colorful and like “summery vibes.”