I feel like everyone out there hates at least one specific type of music. A bunch of my friends really loathe country, then there’s the heavy metal haters, the people who despise pop, those that detest rap, those who undervalue rock and roll, and people like myself who really don’t quite understand EDM. It’s okay to not like everything, obviously everyone has their favorites. I’d say mine are pop punk, classic rock, anything Taylor swift (obviously if you know me), and then some other stuff that falls somewhere in-between. Although I don’t like everything, I feel like I’ve gained an appreciation for what’s out there, and I feel like others should too.

For example, I know if my friends gave country more of a chance they’d figure out the artists within the genre that they like, and find that although they may not like all of it, there are things within every genre for everyone. I grew up listening to my parents music which is how I learned to love classic rock, and I’ll definitely want to leave a musical impact on my own kids someday, but once I started getting into my own music, which was more current day, it opened my parents up to it as well. I know that it helped them gain an appreciation for current day music just like I did their music.

My friends definitely had an impact on my music taste. I never would’ve gotten into pop punk if it wasn’t for them, and it never would’ve opened my eyes to the number of possibilities that exist in the music world. I don’t love rap but I like some and I don’t love heavy metal but I’ve become more open to it, and when you have that attitude you may be surprised by what you like.

It startles me when someone says they don’t really like music. Like how do you not like music? I feel like music is a part of my soul and my everyday being. Sorry didn’t mean to get so deep there. Anyway, I feel like music is a way that many people define themselves. I know it used to be that a certain type of music went along with the way one dressed and portrayed him/herself to the outside world. I’d say it’s not that extreme anymore and that’s ok because it certainly shouldn’t be. We should open ourselves up to the limitless music that’s out there instead of just letting one type define our whole being.

Everyone will always have their favorites and that’s perfectly great, but don’t forget about the rest that’s out there. The more different types of music you know, the more people you can connect with and the better-rounded of a person you could become as a result. After all, music is the only TRUE universal language.