We’re happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time. It’s miserable and magical.”

The lyrics to Taylor Swift’s hit song, “22,” ring true for anyone in their early twenties trying to navigate the newfound freedom of a life away from parents, spent at bars or college parties, learning new responsibilities, and wondering, “Where do I belong?”

It’s this sense that “She gets it, she gets me. And these people here, they all get me” that screaming fans feel as Swift walks onstage in full sparkles, and full empowerment.

A young country girl with curly hair and a guitar has become a symbol of what they could become-a better, bigger, and enormously popular version of themselves. Swifties grew up with her.

She’s been in the spotlight for 17 years, going through all of the struggles and breakups that come with trying to find your place in the world through the turbulent years of early adulthood.

She’s been through her country girl “era,” her dark pop “era,” times when she wore sundresses and times when she wore leather. Swift-lovers see their life experience mirrored in her songs. They feel understood and validated, like they aren’t alone in the confusion, the loneliness, or the happiness.

Research shows that feeling understood and validated feels good. One daily diary study demonstrated that on days when participants felt more understood by others, they experienced significantly fewer physical symptoms and greater life satisfaction.

An fMRI study revealed that the experience of being validated activates the reward and social connection areas of the brain (the ventral striatum and middle insula), whereas the experience of feeling misunderstood turned on areas of the brain associated with negative mood states (i.e., the anterior insula).

The researchers also found that feeling validated created feelings of social connection, while feeling misunderstood led to feelings of disconnection.