I'll admit it, I went home the first weekend of college to see Niall Horan in concert and drove back to school the next morning to see him again in Syracuse. And they were some of the best shows I've been to.
Six years ago when I first listened to One Direction, I can't say this is where I expected my life to go, but I'd be lying if I said I hated it.
If you know me, then this next story will probably shock you, but when I saw One Direction for the first time I thought they were a bunch of weirdos and wanted them off my TV screen.
The day was March 10, 2012. Big Time Rush's international escapades were the star of the night as "Big Time Movie" premiered on Nickelodeon. However, the premiere was being hosted by this up and coming band of the time, One Direction. So every commercial break I was greeted by five foreign teenagers.
However, as little 13-year old me laid on the couch with strep throat surround by my mom and brother, I somehow found enough energy to complain about these boys. I was annoyed every time they showed up and mentioned how I just wanted to watch the movie.
Just a couple of weeks later I kept hearing about this song "What Makes You Beautiful." After some thoughtful consideration, I decided to give it a listen and then I decided to listen to the entire "Up All Night" album. Then I fangirled hard when they closed the Kids Choice Awards.
I arranged my Saturday night to watch them on "iCarly" and made sure to record when they were on "Saturday Night Live" the same night.
Now for the past six years, this cycle has continued. I'm proud to say I've seen 1D in concerts three times, Niall Horan twice, Nick Jonas once (cause let's face it, of course, this boyband addiction started with the Jonas Brothers) and 5SOS four times (twice by themselves and twice with 1D). And yes I know we could debate for hours what category to put 5SOS into but I'll save that for another article.
And let's not forget about all the times I've stayed up late or got up early to watch my boys on different shows and interviews, my multiple visits to different One Direction pop-up stores, how every wall in my bedroom is covered in posters and more importantly the Niall and Louis cardboard cutouts in the corners.
Now as you're starting a new school year, don't worry it's okay to like whatever music you want no matter how old you are.
Sure maybe I was known as the One Direction girl for most of high school, but still, it means many (many) people reached out to me on that dark, dark day of March 25, 2015, also known as the day Zayn left.
Nothing will be able to erase the pain of getting ready for softball practice one day over spring break and seeing a twitter notification from the band's official account that reads "One Direction's official statement" with a link to the post. (Side note yes I do have notifications on for all 5 members.)
As I stood in my bathroom my arm still throbbing from the shot I got earlier in the morning I just felt the tears streaming down my face. I walked downstairs with a face full of tears and showed my dad the post. He told me he understood and said he had to take the rest of the day off when the same thing happened to The Who.
Yes, being a fan of boy bands in college can be challenging at times.
Sometimes it's weird wearing a concert shirt, or I wasn't sure how my roommate would react to my posters, but in the end, it doesn't really matter. I still enjoyed the music and no one at college really cares about what you're wearing or doing. Not to mention I met a bunch of friends at school who are also still big fans.
My one complaint would be that people don't play their music anywhere near enough. I just want to go out and hear people playing some great upbeat songs. Well, a girl can dream.
