Yes, yes, I admit it. I’m still going through my 2000's rock phase. If you’re a 90’s kid, you were somewhere between a toddler and a small child when grunge was at its peak. So you missed the Nirvana and Pearl Jam era. But luckily for you, when you grew older, middle school was the peak of a lot of your current guilty pleasure bands.

Let me take you back to that special time. In the mid-2000's you had the entire "Hybrid Theory" album memorized. "Diary of Jane" was on constant replay. The "One X" album from Three Days Grace was quite possibly your most prized possession. Simple Plan’s first two albums sounded like someone stole your diary that you kept under your mattress and turned it into a string of songs. You felt the most alive when you belted Staind songs at the top of your lungs in the shower or in the car with your first SO of a whole two weeks. And when you and that SO called it quits you played Evanescence on your first iPod at completely unnecessary levels, to the point where you’re still questioning if your hearing is permanently damaged from that stint in your life.

Whether you were pissed off, happy as can be, or just walking to the bus stop for another normal day, you blasted some bands you’d never admit to now, but you know in your heart you still secretly love them.

Korn, Avenged Sevenfold, Rise Against, The Offspring, Alice in Chains, August Burns Red, Flyleaf, Chevelle, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the The Disco, Shall I go on….

Guys. I’m still in that phase. Sure, my music taste has evolved to include indie and electronic… but on any given day I listened to one of those bands at least 10 times before I even got to class in the morning.

But it goes further than that. I’m a sorority girl but I stick out like an ink stain on a band tee. Because on days when I’m not dressed in floral print and my nails don’t match my lipstick, I look like I should be the new lead singer for Garbage if they ever broke up and needed to be reunited again.

My hair is wildly big and curly, much akin to Mia Thermopolis before her magical make-over. I walk around in beat-up Doc Martins, a black leather jacket, and too much eyeliner. I’m somewhere between The 90's Seattle Grunge meets Metal in the 80's. It’s basically written all over me that I was born in the wrong decade.

Maybe I haven’t grown up, or maybe I’ve just been as empathetic and emotionally intelligent as I have always been my entire life. Either way… I love my style and my music. I’m just praying for the day rock becomes as popular as it used to be.

So here’s my message to all you closet rockers out there. Rock is music for the daring, the adventurous, the real, and the rebellious. Rock is music for the people who believe that they are fighters and want to overcome anything and everything that comes their way. Rock is for people that feel intensely and just want to stick it to the “man,” man.

Being a rocker is a beautiful thing. You just have to own it! There's not enough of us out there.