Walking into high school on the first day, I don’t think anyone expects the worst. There’s an excitement that comes along with the expectations of new freedom and maybe, just maybe, a social life and popularity for others to envy. Now, that was never my thought going into the ninth grade. I just wanted the new found freedom and more difficult classes. I could take higher level classes without having to worry about some test to prove how smart I actually was. Unfortunately, that’s only one part of high school.
If I’m being honest, high school was more of a contest to see who had the most friends (after ninth grade, it turned into a competition of who had the highest GPA and who would be class valedictorian: I was so close). My freshman year was probably the worst out of all of them. I remember my first set of classes: they were pretty great. However, the next semester was quite different. Along with a teacher that I couldn’t bring myself to like, I found myself losing a large majority of my friends towards the end of freshman year. I’m sure you all know how the rest goes: headphones in, the world shut out. That was around the time I discovered a certain band who goes by the name of One Direction.
Did that get a few eye rolls? I’m sure it did, but what those of you rolling your eyes at me right now don’t understand is that this band, this group of boys, helped bring comfort to me when everything seemed awful. Over the past few years, One Direction has become something like home to me. Their voices are familiar to me. It’s like an old friend that you haven’t spoken to in years coming back around because they missed you and wanted to know how you are. That’s what this band is for me. When I first discovered them, I found myself listening to music a lot more than I used to. That first song “What Makes You Beautiful” is still one of my favorites simply because of the memories that surround it. Now I find myself listening to the music that I've loved for years and taking a look into how things work behind the scenes. It's interesting, alright?
As I finished high school and began to prepare for college, there were a lot of stressful moments. There were times where I just didn’t want to do anything because I was that much closer to graduation. I never got the "senioritis" that plagued many of my classmates, but I did get to a point where I didn’t care as much simply because of how stressed I was becoming. Once again, that’s when I put in my headphones. At this point, it was music, in general, that helped me, but I still found myself listening to the recognizable sound of One Direction. The voices that brought a peace and comfort around me that was hard to find on my own.
The best part about this band and loving them is that I’m not the only one who finds comfort from the voices of these boys. There are thousands upon thousands of people around the world who are depressed, have anxiety, or who are hurting themselves every day who find a sense of serenity when they put in their headphones to listen to a song from any of the five albums or watch an interview the boys did. One Direction have a tendency to help their fans without even trying. It’s amazing to see and it’s something that someone who just rolls their eyes at the mention of them wouldn’t be able to comprehend
What I’m trying to say is this: don’t treat someone’s music taste like garbage just because it isn’t your style. It’s okay that you may not like One Direction, but trust me there are a lot of people who do. It’s also okay that you may not like the things that someone else does or the way they cope with the feelings echoing through their head, but take a moment to try and help before casting some awful judgement. Everyone finds their sense of peace differently. I find mine with One Direction (I also happened to find what I want to do with my life thanks to One Direction). Someone else may find it with painting, drawing, writing, singing, or whatever they’ve found that they love to do. We’re all different in that aspect and it’s wonderful.
The next time you want to cast a judgement on someone just based on what music they listen to, or what they do with their free time, make sure you take a look at what you do. Someone else may find what you do strange, and how would you feel if they pointed it out to you?
