If you thought Taylor Swift's "tortured poets" era was relatively new, think again.
After the release of Swift's eleventh studio album The Tortured Poets Department—which turned out to be a secret double feature with 15 addition songs—CBS Philadelphia sat down with two the singer's former elementary school teachers to learn more about Swift's poetic origins.
"She always was writing poetry—always—even in music class; even when she shouldn't," Barbara Kolvek, Swift's elementary school music teacher, told the publication.
Turns out, Kolvek even gave the "Eras Tour" pop star "her very first singing solo" after Swift—who was only in second grade at the time—told her she wanted to become a professional singer when she grew up.
"I feel like maybe I gave her a little spark or encouragement to do what she was doing," Kolvek added.
CBS Philadelphia also spoke to Swift's third grade teacher, Heather Brown, who said that even early on she could tell the singer had a "special quality."
"You always remember every student from the quality they have," she told the outlet. "Taylor's quality was just being—she was one of those students who people where just drew to."
Forever the dedicated educator, Brown revealed that she still sends Swift a card every year during the holidays, though she admitted that she doesn't think Swift receives "the messages anymore."
Either way, the proud third grade teacher said that she has watched everything her former student touches "turn to gold" and is "so excited to see what comes next."
"When she comes out on stage and everyone's screaming 'Taylor,' it's like, oh my gosh: I was her teacher," Brown added.
In a 2008 interview with Entertainment Weekly, a teenage Swift opened up about her aspirations as a child and the hard work and sacrifices it took for her to break into the music industry.
"When I was 10, or younger than that, even, I would watch these biographies on Faith Hill or the Dixie Chicks or Shania Twain or LeAnn Rimes, and the thing I kept hearing was that they had to go to Nashville," Swift told the publication at the time, adding that eventually she talked her parents into flying her to Nashville for a visit.
"I took my demo CDs of karaoke songs, where I sound like a chipmunk—it's pretty awesome—and my mom waited in the car with my little brother while I knocked on doors up and down Music Row," she added. "I would say, 'Hi, I'm Taylor. I'm 11; I want a record deal. Call me."' They didn't."
At just 14 years old, Swift signed with Sony/ATV Publishing and became the youngest person to ever sign with a major songwriting company in Nashville.
