Taylor Swift Opens Up About Her Love for Guy Fieri and 'Teen Mom' in One of Her First PEOPLE Cover Stories: Read It Here

At 21, the singer-songwriter admitted, “I've never felt like the coolest girl in the room. Ever.”

In case you didn't know, PEOPLE Magazine is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and we had quite a party.

As part of the festivities, we are releasing a special edition, 50 years of stars, filled with incredible archival footage and interviews with celebrities we've followed over the years.

One such celebrity is Taylor Swift, who landed her first PEOPLE cover in 2009 and, in November 2010, sat down with our reporters for an in-depth discussion about her musical inspirations and quiet personal life as Speak Now was climbing the charts.

Below, read the 2010 interview in full and pick up 50 years of stars on Amazon and on newsstands now.

She had a decision to make: Back home in Nashville after a promotional trip to Europe, a jet-lagged Taylor Swift could either catch up on sleep or have breakfast with her father, Scott.

A typical 20-year-old might pull the covers over her head, but the singer pulled herself together. “I always get up and go have breakfast with him,” says Swift, who moved out of her parents' house earlier this year. “A lot of decisions I make,” she adds, “I make them by asking myself, 'What would I think about this when I'm 80?' » »

Related: Taylor Swift's Sweetest Family Moments With Her Parents

One thing's for sure: Taylor, 80, won't worry about leaving things unsaid. His albums are renowned for being autobiographical, and his latest, Speak Nowis filled with emotionally charged songs she wrote about the last two years of her life — a period that included relationships with Joe Jonas and Taylor Lautner (and, apparently, drama with John Mayer), a handful of reactions criticism after his Grammy wins. and that infamous incident at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, when Kanye West hijacked his acceptance speech.

Whether she's the victim or the heartbreaker, she has the last word. “There was extreme joy, extreme pain, extreme upheaval,” Swift says. “Sometimes when things hit you so hard, you have to write a song to get over it. » Although she is admittedly “shy” and “shy” when it comes to discussing her personal life, “I will say everything in my music,” Swift explains. So should Mayer be worried? Swift widens his eyes and avoids answering when asked if “Dear John” is about him.

According to Swift, all the subjects of her songs — the crushes, the exes, the “liar” she calls in “Mean” — should have known they would become fodder. “It’s album number three, so I think these people have been warned.”

On the same subject: Taylor Swift's life in photos

Swift, the Country Music Association's youngest artist of the year, was recently ranked 12th on the chart. Forbes celebrity power list, earning an estimated $45 million. Since releasing her first album at 16, she says, “I have remained the same as a person, but the perception of me has changed enormously. »

She still considers herself the outcast she was in middle school. It makes no difference that she's dated Hollywood heartthrobs, counts actress Selena Gomez, 18, among her best friends and recently attended the Roberto Cavalli fashion show in Milan. “I never felt like the coolest girl in the room. Never,” she said. “Every time I jumped up and down, screamed at the top of my lungs and danced because I won an award, I celebrated like it was the last time that would happen,” Swift says. “Living life this way makes me excitable. »

On the same subject: Taylor Swift as Teletubby! From Farm Baby to Sandy in 'Grease,' Check Out 11 Childhood Photos of the Future Superstar

Love, on the other hand, keeps her both confused and fascinated. “It's the one thing in life that's so unpredictable that I'll never figure it out,” she says. “So I'm constantly writing songs about it… But I never have a morning where I wake up and say, 'I really need to find a boyfriend today.' “With limited free time, she has plenty of other things to keep her busy. “Right now, I'm going to the park or walking in nature and listening to music in my headphones,” says Swift. Grey's Anatomy fan who downloads the songs she hears on the show.

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She also cooks and bakes, hangs out in her room watching the Food Network (especially Dinners, drive-ins and diving) and MTV Teen mom, and writes in his diary. “I think sometimes as people become more successful, the list of things that make them happy gets smaller,” she explains. “But I think your list should grow. I love going to the grocery store and have kept it on the list of things that make me happy.

Although she laughingly admits that “it’s a much more social experience now,” she doesn’t see that as a problem. Swift says: “I never wanted to be the girl who gets everything she dreams of and starts complaining about it. »

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