Mom writes note to daughter's teacher, admitting she skipped class just to see Taylor Swift
"Here’s hoping my daughter’s 1st grade teacher is a Swiftie."

Taylor Swift performing in concert in 2017
People are praising Karen Vladeck, 38, a mom from Austin, Texas, who wrote a clever email notifying her daughter's teacher that she would be missing school to attend a Taylor Swift concert. However, instead of a simple letter asking for the absence to be excused, she channeled her inner Swiftie and composed a note infused with nods to the singer's music catalog.
The absence was for April 24, which coincided with the final date of Swift’s 3-night stand at Houston’s NRG stadium. Vladek sent the letter on April 4, so the teacher would have plenty of notice.
Vladek, a legal recruiter, attorney and podcaster, shared the witty email she sent to her daughter's teacher on Twitter, which received nearly 3,800 likes. “Here’s hoping my daughter’s 1st grade teacher is a Swiftie," she captioned the tweet.
She titled the email: "It's Me, Hi, I'm the Problem, It's Me,” a nod to Swift’s song “Anti-Hero.”
\u201cHere\u2019s hoping my daughter\u2019s 1st grade teacher is a Swiftie\u201d— KSV Eras Era (@KSV Eras Era) 1680622506
The email begins with “Dear Reader [Ms. Parks]," referencing another song on Swift’s “Midnights" album. It went on to include numerous Swiftisms, including “Should Have Said No,” “So It Goes…,” “Bad Blood,” “I Did Something Bad,” “The Last Time," “Cruel Summer” and “Forever & Always.”
“Dear Reader [Ms. Parks], I’m writing to let you know that Maddie won’t be in school on 4/24 because she is going to the Taylor Swift concert in Houston,” Vladeck wrote. “I hope missing school doesn’t ruin her otherwise stellar Reputation, but she begged me to go and maybe I Should Have Said No but I didn’t want to be Mean. So It Goes…Anyway, I hope this doesn’t leave any Bad Blood between you and Maddie and that things for the rest of the year are not Treacherous.
“I know I Did Something Bad and I promise this will be The Last Time she has an unexcused absence before the Cruel Summer starts. Forever & Always, -Karen Vladeck.”
Vladek’s husband, Steve, didn’t seem too thrilled about the email.
Well let’s hope her reaction is better than my husband’s pic.twitter.com/OSOXOKDWTP
— KSV Eras Era (@KSVesq) April 4, 2023
The mother could have made up a story that her daughter was sick or that there was some family emergency. But she was honest, admitting that having Taylor Swift tickets was an acceptable excuse for missing a day of school. Who’s to blame her? The Eras Tour is such a major pop culture event that the average ticket price is $700; Swift may become a billionaire when it’s all said and done.
Plus, it would have been hard for her daughter to return to school and not tell everyone on the playground that she got to see Swift.
The mother’s note got a lot of praise on social media from fellow parents and Swifties.
Some teachers said that Maddie's absence was completely acceptable.
I'm in my 19th year teaching, and "went to a concert" has been an acceptable excuse 100% of the time!
— Adam J. Rabideau (@RabsAdamJ) April 18, 2023
As a Swiftie teacher who is missing Friday to travel to Houston for one of the concerts, I totally understand! 🫶
— Courtney Santore (@starlitsinger) April 11, 2023
As a teacher, I would 100% approve. Once I showed my class a live educational interview with Taylor on the big projector screen.
— Tammy Rawlings (@lilivoryangel) April 9, 2023
Swift fans shared some more references she could have included in the letter.
I also feel like you could have worked in a her Picture to Burn reference.
— Brian Rosenwald (@brianros1) April 4, 2023
Hope it didn’t leave a Blank Space in the grade book
— Brian (@bmeans27) April 6, 2023
It’s not as if you took her to Paris
— Bethany Albertson (@AlbertsonB2) April 4, 2023
She's going to respond with "You're On Your Own, Kid."
— MetaBlue (@Mayelynn_Blue) April 4, 2023
Eh, it’s just one day of school; I’m sure the teacher can Shake It Off.
— Twowackykids (@twowackykids) April 4, 2023
A World Series parade is a great reason to take a day off from school, too.
One year when the San Francisco Giants won the world series, we called school to say our two boys would not attend so we could go to the victory parade. The school thanked us for our honesty as half the class called in sick. Good luck.
— Pepper (@amackles) April 4, 2023
The good news is that Ms. Parks was totally fine with the reason for the absence. She responded to the email, saying, “THIS MADE MY ENTIRE DAY.” Way to go, Ms. Parks.
MS PARKS GETS IT pic.twitter.com/RI6MD3Wavj
— KSV Eras Era (@KSVesq) April 4, 2023
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."