"Fifteen" By Taylor Swift - (from Fearless) SEEK Play the song and then assign small groups of 5-ish. Make groups so there is at least one high school girl per group and ask her to lead the discussion. Groups must stay together until all groups have finished the discussion.   TOPIC: Advice THEME: The singer thinks back to the naïve beliefs she held when she was 15. READ: Though the sophomore release from 18-year-old Taylor Swift may be categorized as "Country," it's only in the loosest sense of the word. It is, however, like reading the diary of every girl in the youth group-at least, the clean one she leaves where her mother will find it. Every song is about boys, boys, and more boys-and the joy and pain associated with them. Refreshingly, Swift wrote every single song on the disc. When you're a teenager, parents can give you all the advice in the world, based on their wealth of experience, because, after all, they were once teenagers too. But will you listen? Is it really possible to separate parents' advice from parents' perceived restrictions? It's a rare teen who can. Taylor Swift's advice is much more relatable to the high school youth than parents can ever hope to be. Taylor has presented herself as very respectably so far, and is an ideal role model for teens experiencing the challenges of high school life. She's been there, not so long ago. Therefore, she likely feels much more relevant than the parents and other well meaning adults who are forced to speak from somewhat distant memories. This song from the front lines is about teen girls and the strong emotions that arise from teen love. While a parent may not be able to easily discuss certain sensitive topics without seeming to lecture, someone like Swift can address the same sensitive issues by simply being real. Swift said, "I wrote this around the story line of my best friend from high school, Abigail. I started everything with the line "Abigail gave everything she had to a boy who changed his mind" and wrote everything else from that point, almost backwards. I just decided I really wanted to tell that story about our first year of high school because I felt in my freshman year; I grew up more than any year in my life so far. The verse ended up, "Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday/But I realized some bigger dreams of mine/And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy/Who changed his mind and we both cried." What's more, she humbly acknowledges, "I've found time can heal most anything/And you just might find who you're supposed to be/I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen."   Solve DISCUSSION QUESTIONS    -Are you different from the person you were three years ago? Explain.    -If you could go back and give yourself advice, what would it be?    -Do you think you would listen to your advice? Why or why not?    -Why is it so hard to take advice?      -Are you more likely to listen to advice from an adult or from a peer? Explain. Read Aloud Proverbs 12:15: The way of a fool is right in (their) own eyes, but a wise (person) listens to advice. ASK:    -Why is it wise for a person to seek advice?    -How do you know what advice to embrace, and what advice to ignore?    -What advice have you learned from church? Explain.    "Fifteen" (from Fearless) You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors Its the morning of your very first day you say hi to your friends you aint seen in a while Try and stay out of everybody's way It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here for the next four years in this town hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say you know I haven't seen you around, before   Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you you're gonna believe them and when you're fifteen feeling like there nothing to figure out well count to ten, take it in this is life before who you're gonna be Fifteen   You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail and soon enough you're best friends laughing at the other girls who think they're so cool we'll be out of here as soon as we can and then you're on your very first date and he's got a car and you're feeling like flying and you're mamas waiting up and you think he's the one and you're dancing round your room when the night ends when the night ends   Cause when you're fifteen and when somebody tells you they love you you're gonna believe them when you're fifteen and your first kiss makes your head spin round but in your life you'll do greater than dating the boy on the football team but I didn't know it at fifteen   When all you wanted was to be wanted wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday but I realized some bigger dreams of mine   and Abigail gave everything she had to a boy who changed his mind and we both cried Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you you're gonna believe them and when you're fifteen, don't forget to look before you fall I've found that time can heal most anything and you just might find who you're supposed to be I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen   La la la la la .. la la la la la . La la la la la   Your very first day take a deep breath girl take a deep breath as you walk through those doors.