There are two types of people in the world: those who follow and those who go against the grain. More specifically, there are people who like things just because they are popular and people who hate things just because they are popular.

For the majority of my life, I would've considered myself to have been the latter. Growing up, I felt that in order to be different, I needed to denounce what was popular and have an opinion that differed from that of the crowd. Needless to say, I took mom's advice of not being a follower a little too far.

I, however, know that I wasn't alone. In fact, authentic hipsters dedicate their entire lives to just that: veering from what is considered 'mainstream'. I definitely would not put myself in that category, but I did feel that it was important to be "alternative."

Now, to be fair, my definition of being alternative at the time probably wasn't very alternative at all. Many of my friends and people around me liked the same things that I liked. Some of the music I listened to, for instance, definitely had a big following. It just wasn't the cookie-cutter pop music that you often heard on Z100 or the top 40.

That being said, I often-times found myself saying things like "ugh, I hate [such and such]" or "I don't want that because everyone else has it." Even if I secretly liked a certain trend, I would sometimes just pretend I didn't so I wouldn't be like everyone else. When everyone got feather hair extensions, I decided it wasn't in my best interest to look like everyone else, even though I low-key thought that they were cool. When the Jonas Brothers came out, I pretended I wasn't totally into Nick's luscious locks. I originally didn't watch Pretty Little Liars because everyone else was watching Pretty Little Liars (I finally caved and actually hated it).

Keeping this facade up proved to be hard work. Being negative was extremely tiring, and I eventually decided that I didn't want to do it anymore. I started to realize that it didn't make sense to put things off just because they are popular. Why should I have been embarrassed of liking things that everyone else liked? Why shouldn't I allow myself to enjoy the things I want to enjoy? Why did I think anyone would care?

The point here is that I missed out on a lot of things because I was afraid of being basic. Keeping up a certain image isn't as important as your happiness, and I wish I had learned that sooner. Nobody really cares whether you like the latest fashion trend or hottest boy band. If you genuinely dislike something that is popular, that is OK. You should not, however, discredit something just because it is popular. You never know what you could be missing out on.

So like what you like, and don't be afraid to show it. Who cares if millions of people like the same thing as you. If it's popular it's probably popular for a reason.