Fun Fact: Nice Girls Are Interesting Too. Enter Taylor Swift.

I had always liked Taylor Swift just fine. I didn’t own her albums or follow her on Twitter, I didn’t buy magazines because she was on the cover or pay attention to the latest Taylor gossip that whatever tabloid was fussing about. But I did stop scrolling through the radio when I heard the catchy tune of “You Belong With Me” or “Fearless,” and I probably sang along too.

And then “Mean” debuted in October of 2010. It was the first single on her newest album, Speak Now, which was set to release later that year. For me, it was the perfect song at the perfect time. Each word resonated so deeply that I felt grateful to Taylor for writing a song that made me smile triumphantly every time I played it, which was often and repeatedly. I listened to it over and over because it ignited a spark inside of me that I wanted to keep. A spark Taylor didn’t know she had given me.

It was that same October that I had escaped an abusive relationship that I should have walked away from the previous winter when he first exerted his alarmingly perilous side by forcing me to do something that I didn’t want to do, sending me into full-on meltdown mode while I struggled to be myself again. But since the effects of emotional abuse in a romantic relationship are on a whole other realm that I could speak out about until my voice goes dry, I’ll spare you the gritty details for now and go back to my initial point about how Taylor laid out my feelings so well – almost too well. She didn’t know my tormentor, but she knew was familiar with his type.

And I can see you years from now in a bar
Talking over a football game
With that same big loud opinion
But nobody’s listening, washed up and ranting
About the same old bitter things
Drunk and grumbling on about how I can’t sing
But all you are is mean
All you are is mean and a liar and pathetic
And alone in life and mean, and mean, and mean, and mean

Well, I don’t know if he’s still cursing loudly in public with his same negative outbursts and bitter cynicism, I don’t know if he’s washed up and alone and drunk and lying, and I don’t care. I only know and care that “Mean” played to me then, and even though I’m long past the ordeal that Taylor was so complicit in helping me through, my fandom hasn’t waned. It’s only grown over the years, as has she.

But someday I’ll be living in a big old city
And all you’re ever gonna be is mean
Yeah someday I’ll be big enough
So you can’t hit me
And all you’re ever gonna be is mean

Ten years ago, Taylor was right. One day, she’d be too big to hit. And by now, she’s been there for a while. So mighty that she can’t fall.

So yes, I was excited to see Netflix’s new documentary about America’s beloved country queen turned pop star. Although, going in, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew it wouldn’t be a scandalous affair since Ms. Swift had a hand in the project and, even with her share of gossip-worthy incidents and occasions of overblown controversy that temporarily turned America against her, Ms. Swift is about as tame as they come. And knowing the unlikelihood that Taylor would invent hair-raising tales about herself, I was concerned that Miss Americana would be pretty uninteresting, even downright boring. So maybe the lesson here is that the nicest girl can in fact be the most interesting girl. Or damn near close.

Taylor Swift, as we all know, has reached unimaginable stardom. Active in the industry since she was 14 years old, and then a full-fledged celebrity by her late teens, it’s not uncommon to hear Ms. Swift’s name and conjure an image of the 19-year-old girl who accepted her first Grammy and captured our hearts in one fell swoop on a victorious September night. To look at her today is extraordinary. She has blossomed into a capable, intelligent woman right before our eyes, and has seemingly become the most powerful woman in the music industry without even trying.

But to say she wasn’t trying is ignorant. Miss Americana shows us that, while Taylor was born with an extraordinary talent that few can champion, her recognition is just. The artist’s work ethic is severely underestimated and her devotion to her fans is overlooked completely. While we were busy talking about her love life and who her friends were and dissecting everything she said (or didn’t say), the songstress was putting everything she had into producing music that we wanted to hear. From the beginning, it was always about us, and she used every ounce of energy she had to inspire and wow all who were watching. Fame wasn’t simply handed to her, but even if it had been, the magnitude to which she excelled wasn’t pure luck. When all is said and done, even the most skeptical viewers won’t be able to shake that.

Miss Americana takes us through Taylor’s most iconic moments, from the horrifying night that Kanye West made our jaws drop in utter shock when he bolted onto the stage and interrupted her acceptance speech for the “Best Female Video” award at the MTV Video Music Awards over a decade ago, to the media’s constant mocking speculation on whom she’s dating this week, to her confrontation in the courtroom with the man who sexually assaulted her, to her recognition of her eating disorder, all the way to her considerably decisive moment to voice her political views for the first time in 2018 (and what came after).

Fresh, touching, and a little bit heartbreaking for those who love Ms. Swift, Miss Americana gives the best insight you’ll get thus far as to who Taylor is and the trials she faced to become her. Discard everything you’ve heard or read about Taylor, as well as any assumptions you may have had that she was unmoved in the midst of every “mean girl” accusation that was thrown her way, every attack she received for not taking part in political endorsements, every celebrity feud that she was unwittingly dragged into, and all the other scornful campaigns that were launched against her. Because while Taylor came back from defeat with grace and dignity, her wealth, fame, and beauty never disqualified her from feeling the effects of the loathing and ridicule that she was too often ambushed with. Let’s face it: when there’s nothing to hate, we invent it. And that’s what we did to Ms. Swift. But now it’s time to listen to her side of the story. It’s time to see her in raw form – vulnerable, passionate, caring, human – and fall in love with her again. This time for good.