Taylor's Version of My Toxic Boss Era

Warning: TL;DR vibes ahead, but if you've ever survived a hell-year at work, this one’s for you.

I never really got it until I saw The Eras Tour film. Maybe it was the capes. Maybe it was the glowing orbs. Maybe it was the Folklore cabin. All I know is: I became a Swiftie in 2023 and never looked back.

Because in a year where everything was unraveling at work — where I was being gaslit, isolated, and stripped of professional worth — Taylor Swift lyrics were the only thing that made sense.

Along with, let’s be real, ChatGPT because no one else could keep up with that amount of processing and rumination.

This is my soundtrack. This is Taylor's Version of My Toxic Boss Era.

Anti-Hero

It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me.

Some days, I wondered if I was the villain. If maybe I really was too much.

But here's what I know now: being emotionally responsive in the face of injustice doesn't make you the problem. It makes you human.

Ready For It?

Let the games begin.

Because I played this one on repeat when I needed to hype myself up for another day in the lion's den.

It was armor. It was reminder. It was prophecy.

Because I am ready for it - recording, remembering, witnessing… All. The. Lies.

And I am the victor - even after everything - because I have objective, verifiable facts that cut through her Tornado of Lies. She doesn’t get to steal reality.

Karma

I keep my side of the street clean...

This wasn’t about revenge. It was about not letting their toxicity change me.

Sure, I vented. Sure, I had fire in my chest. But I didn’t stoop. I didn’t lie. I stayed honest even when they didn’t.

I tried to be generous to a fault. And while my side of the street wasn’t spotless, it was clean enough to stand tall on.

This Is Me Trying

I just wanted you to know... this is me trying.

There were days I was hanging on by a thread. Days when I sat in my car wondering how I could possibly show up again.

But I did.

I poured my heart out to strangers. I searched for meaning. I tried to stay kind even when everything in me was breaking.

I wasn't perfect. But I tried. And that should count for something.

Mad Woman

Every time you call me crazy, I get more crazy...
They framed me as angry. So guess what? I got angry. Because injustice has a way of creating the exact emotion it accuses you of.

They poked and poked and then blamed me for having claws. I played this one at full volume on the way to work. Over. And. Over.

My Tears Ricochet

Even on my worst day, did I deserve, babe, all the hell you gave me?

I was loyal. I was committed. I gave everything.

But when the tide turned, suddenly I was unwelcome in the place I once called home.

They lined up the narrative. They crossed out the good years. They tossed blame like confetti. And still, even after all that, I was the one left weeping in a sunlit room.

Bad Blood

Now we got problems.

Ummmm… self-explanatory.

Vigilante Sh*t

She had the envelope, where you think she got it from?

I documented everything. I saved the emails. I clipped the receipts. Not because I wanted to destroy anyone — but because truth deserves an archive.

Because gaslighting falls apart when the facts show up in writing.

And maybe, just maybe, there’s power in letting the record stand.

You're On Your Own, Kid

I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this.

The summer school I led. It was so good. Coming back in the fall and just being locked in the corner.

It felt like betrayal from the inside. The people who should have had my back were the first to look away.

So I learned: sometimes, you have to be your own rescue. You gather your courage, you pull the thread, and you run.

You learn to build from the wreckage. On your own. But if you need a witness? I’ll listen to your story. Tell me everything.

Look What You Made Me Do

“I’m sorry, the old (me) can’t come to the phone right now.”

Reinvention. Not the kind where you paint over what happened, but the kind where you use it to shape something sharper, deeper, truer.

This year forced me into a kind of metamorphosis I didn’t ask for — but now that I’m on the other side, I can feel it: I am not the same person who walked into this fire. I’m wiser. Braver. I see through the smoke now. And I’m not trying to prove myself anymore.

Bejeweled

Best believe I’m still bejeweled...

I’m not glamorous, but my work polishes up real nice. My leadership? It shines.

Even in the darkest year of my professional life, students thrived under my guidance. Programs flourished. Relationships stayed strong.

I can still make the whole place shimmer with authentic experiential learning. And I will again.

This playlist was survival. It was a mirror. It was proof that I wasn’t alone.

So if you're in the middle of your own Toxic Boss Era, and you can’t Shake It Off, let me say:

You're not crazy. You're not too much. You're not alone.

And maybe this, too, is you trying. And shining. And surviving.

You are, without a doubt, someone's favorite track.