Billboard Music Awards Red Carpet 2012 (PHOTOS)
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Sarah Leon: PHOTOS: Why I Still Wear My Prom Dress
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"If I had the girls in front of me now who got up and left the lunch table when I sat down in fourth, fifth or sixth grade -- they did it a million times -- I'd give them hugs. The biggest lesson of all is that I never want to make anyone else feel that way," she tells USA Weekend. "The most talented people I know and some of the most fascinating people I've met were the most uncool kids in their school. The trials and tribulations in your life make you stronger."
Stronger, indeed. The Pennsylvania native has channeled her past and current struggles -- including ongoing criticism by the press after some of her live performances -- into another Top 10 hit. "Some of the most pain and rejection that I've ever felt produced a song called 'Mean' that I can't stop smiling when I'm singing," she explains. "So seeing that happen makes me feel very strange about regrets and having them, because a lot of times they end up being the best thing that happens to you. You just don't know it at the time."
She may be spending most of the next few months on tour buses and in hotel rooms, but the singer-songwriter enjoys spending time off the road in her own condo in downtown Nashville, which she purchased a year ago. "Living on my own felt like a really natural transition. I moved out when I was 20, so it was a really good age for me, and a really good time in my life to do it," explains Taylor. "I moved out and planned the house and did all the construction while I was making the album. So I'd go and record, then in my time I'd go to the construction site and see everything. It was fun putting it all together."
Though she lives on her own now, the songbird still sees Mom and Dad as much as she can. "I see my parents almost every day when I'm home," she reveals. "I love them; They're really great people, and smart and fun. With my brother off at college, when we get the four of us all together, it's like this rare, amazing thing. Having that be a new dynamic in our family is really cool. It used to be that Austin was in high school, I was 18, we all lived at home, and we saw each other every day. Now, when we all get together, it's really special."
The blond beauty famously writes about her relationships -- good and bad -- in her songs. But while she has penned many tunes touting the downfalls of love lost, including 'Should've Said No' and 'Back to December,' the songstress says she is a big believer in love at first sight.
"For some reason, when you are with some people, you'd rather be closer to them than further away," she notes. "You want to know everything about them. This crazy, immeasurable, intangible, magical chemistry happens with certain people. When you have that, you have to know how rare it is. If you let it slip away, it's such a shame."
Taylor will have plenty of time to meet new guys while she continues her Speak Now World tour, which includes shows in Ohio, Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as a stop in Nashville this Sunday, June 12, to perform the final show at CMA Music Fest. Keep track of her tour schedule here.
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