If you would have told me I would love country music one day, I would have thought you were crazy.

Growing up, I couldn't stand it. I remember plugging my ears as my dad would turn on the country radio station in the car. I remember him telling me, "One day Ash, you are gonna love country. There is nothing like it." Little did I know he would be right.

I was always into rock music, and truth be told I still am. A couple of summers ago I would talk to the other lifeguards about their favorite music, and most of them said country. Because of this general love, country music played mostly at the pool that summer. I dreaded going into my chair because I knew I was stuck listening to that dreadful music.

Three years later, things have changed. I don't know what happened, but I started to not mind country music. What happened? you ask. I can't exactly tell you. Maybe it was my boyfriend repeatedly playing it in the car, or my dad blasting it through the speakers, or even having the privilege to go to a country concert this past summer, or listening to it driving through the West Virginia country roads on a mission trip.

Eventually, without myself really thinking about it, I started adding songs to my music playlist. Whether it was "My Church" by Maren Morris, or "God, Your Mama, And Me" by Florida Georgia Line, the population of this genre in my library was growing. Slowly but surely, the tunes got stuck in my head. I would find myself belting out Tim Mcgraw's "Bluuuuueeeeuuuue looks good on the sky" at random times during the day, almost subconsciously. I soon started to feel uncomfortable shuffling through old music in my playlist. Country music was slowly taking over.

In fact, country music was stealing my heart.

I know what you might be thinking. Ashley, country music is awful and horrendous and there is no way on this planet I will ever come to like it. I know, I know. I felt the same exact way. But you just might be surprised of what happens. You might be surprised of the tunes that get stuck in your head, the songs that resonate with you. You might be surprised of how you as a person can change over time.

Truth is, you and I are not always going to stay the same. It is crazy how the littlest things, even country music, can make you think the most revelatory things about life and yourself.

I realize now that I am forever evolving. Who I am today will not be who I am in three years, and what I like now I will not always like in three years. You and I are constantly growing, constantly finding new things to love.

So before you hate on country music forever, don't forget that things could change.

Whether it is country music or a new hobby or a person who has always gotten on your nerves, don't be surprised if your opinions change. You might start to love the twang of country music, or love running, or even begin to like your once-arch-nemesis. With each day, you are becoming the person you were always meant to be. And believe it or not, that's a good thing.