folklore

yok0ten

“Mirrorball” is a song I almost resent because it exposes parts of me I try not to look at. I see myself in the way Swift admits, “I’m a mirrorball, I can change everything about me to fit in,” because I know how easily I reshape myself, softening opinions, telling small lies, becoming whoever will be most palatable in the room; just to belong. The song feels like a confession whispered under disco lights, where the shimmer distracts from how fragile the glass really is. Its production sounds weightless and reflective, as if the truth is finally being spoken after holding it in for too long, admitting that the version of me people like isn’t always the one that’s real. When she sings, “I’ve never been a natural, all I do is try, try, try,” it captures the exhaustion of constant performance and the fear that without it, I might disappear. Yet in naming this habit, lowering the walls that once protected me. The song feels like a first step toward honesty, acknowledging that becoming myself has to begin with admitting how often I’ve pretended not to be.

pitchfork