Music star Taylor Swift will finally be returning to what she dearly referred to as "her hood."

Swift, along with Kellie Pickler and country band Gloriana, will make a stop on her Fearless Tour at the Bryce Jordan Center (BJC) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Swift traded her college experience to headline what has become a music tour phenomenon, selling out her date at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in two minutes and Madison Square Garden in New York City in only one. Her performance at the BJC also sold out in record time.

As a native of Wyomissing in Berks County, Pa., Swift said she is excited to play a show that should serve as a return to her home state.

"Coming home to Pennsylvania is always a treat for me," Swift said.

Swift spent her childhood on her parents' Christmas tree farm. The open spaces on the compound allowed Swift's imagination to take flight in her early years.

"I had the most amazing memories," she said. "My mom and I would ride horses while my brother would play in the fields."

However, when she went to grade school, Swift said she remembers her classmates made her begin to feel socially alienated -- a feeling that stuck with her when she attended high school outside Nashville to further her singing career.

"I wouldn't say that I was miserable," she said, "But there were definitely those times I couldn't figure out what made you cool ... trying to figure out what got you invited to a party, what made a guy like you."

Not belonging is a common theme in Swift's music. In the music video for her single, "You Belong with Me," she goes as far as dressing up as a band geek who is crushing over a handsome football player.

Bianca Black (junior-international politics, history) knew Swift growing up when they acted together in the Berks Youth Theatre Academy (BYTA). She said she doesn't get why other girls would ostracize Swift.

"She was so outgoing, had a great imagination and she's such an interesting person," Black said. "It seems weird because she was such an outgoing person -- I guess those girls were jealous."

However, when Swift's classmates were beginning to think about college, the singer came to a crossroads.

"For every great road you choose to go down, there's another road you didn't choose to go down," she said about making her decision.

It was at that time Swift decided to forgo college to pursue her career.

"Going to college would have been great, but it's just not worth it right now," she said. "For me, you gain life experience and learn a trade -- I couldn't be in any better educational experience than I could now."

For now, she said she can live a vicarious college experience when she talks to her good friend Abigail, a student at Kansas State, over the phone.

However, the lack of a college experience has not kept her music from relating to a wide variety of listeners, selling out in venues across the country.

It took only 20 minutes for the BJC to sell out, BJC Director of Sales and Marketing Bernie Punt said.

"This is the fastest sellout in our history, and we've been selling tickets since 1996," Punt said, adding Swift holds the record above previous BJC performances of Garth Brooks, Elton John, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen.

Rachel Reinert, singer for Gloriana, said opening up for Swift has been an incredible experience.

"You see a lot of glowsticks and flashes," Reinert said, "It's kind of been surreal -- like a classic Cinderella story for us."

The fan following for Swift has proved to be pervasive, continuously growing in the number of fans from every age group. Punt said he expects to see fans from grade school to adults attending the concert.

"I know 40-year-olds that are fans," he said.

Swift said her music appeals to such a wide audience because she connects with people through songs written about universal themes, such as love and heartbreak.

"Looking out to my audience, I'm glad it can't be categorized into one sort of people," she said. "It's fun to see the junior high girls, and it's also really fun to see the frat boys with my name painted on their chests."

The conscientious artist made sure not to forget the sizeable portion of her college-aged student fans when organizing her tour. In addition to viewing her stop at Penn State as a homecoming, she said she wanted to visit venues close to universities in order to get more college students to attend.

However, the 19-year-old Swift doesn't expect to hit up an apartment party after the concert. She said she takes her responsibility as a role model seriously.

"There are 8-year-old girls at my concerts," she said. "Anything I do will directly affect them."

Even so, Taylor does not scrutinize Penn State's reputation as a party school.

"I don't judge people and I have a lot of reasons why I don't go clubbing," she said. "I'm not a person that's going to be like, 'Don't do this, don't do that.' When you're in college, that's kind of what people do."

Swift's approach to managing her image as a music artist simply does not leave her the downtime to become another victim of TMZ.com, like so many others have. She said she credits her success to being emotionally open and having the ability to control every aspect of her music.

Swift turned down a deal to extend an existing RCA contract in favor of signing with Big Machine Records, a newly created independent label that would allow Swift more control of her music. This included writing all of her own songs.

"It all starts with getting to call your own shots and write your own songs," she said. "I was very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time with people who think I could make decisions and write my own songs."

Childhood friend Black said she remembers how Swift's dedication to her craft was evident at a cast party after a BYTA production of Grease, when an 11-year-old Swift had just began learning to play the guitar.

"She was really into it and determined to get it, because she was already good with the singing," Black said.

Reinert also said Swift is a sweet and genuine individual thankful for her success.

"She performs her butt off and deserves everything she gets," Reinert said.

Gloriana originally consisted of Reinert and brothers Mike and Tom Gossin, but after a memorable nightclub performance, recording artist and reality personality Cheyenne Kimball joined the family.

Reinart said she recognized Kimball in the crowd that night. She was taking time off from her solo career working at a tanning salon, she said.

"When she came up, she was a girl, no ego whatsoever, who just wanted to be friends," Reinert said.

Gloriana's self-titled debut album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Country Charts, as well as No. 3 on the All-Album Charts.

Reinert said her band is successful because the individuality of the artists works well together.

"What makes us different is our harmonies, taking all of our influences from growing up and putting it into a big mixing pot," she said.

Kellie Pickler, the other featured act for the show, was a contestant in the fifth season of American Idol and has since broken through as a country music artist.

Swift and Pickler became friends and co-wrote Pickler's song "Best Days of Your Life" together.

According to a press release, the show will feature three acts, eight costume changes and will showcase Swift playing seven different instruments.

"I love the fact that every single show incorporates something that surprises the audience," she said. "I've had dreams of putting on a big, theatrical concert."