"Ew, that genre is just a bunch of hilly-billies."

"The songs are only about beer and trucks."

"It all sounds the same to me."

These are only a few of the typical responses I get when I tell people my favorite music genre is country. The problem I see is not just the responses I receive, but the fact that I sometimes feel ashamed to reveal my music taste or my favorite songs/artists. It is music--no one should have to feel that way about their music.

Musical taste is a personal decision. This is why I have never understood why people make fun of other's music. The worst is when people say, "Music these days is trash" and other similar sayings. Music these days is trash? People who say come off as having an elitist attitude about their taste as if their preferences were somehow the "right" preferences.

Music is a personal choice and that is why it can't be made fun of. For me, I tend to listen to mostly country radio stations because my dad always listened to country music when I was growing up. In the car, we'd usually be listening to old country artists and classics. Now, I listen to country pop, but I sway towards the genre because it reminds me of those days. Certain songs that I hear make me think of times like that--simple, carefree days from childhood.

For every person, it is different. Maybe the person who listens to Taylor Swift relates to her words because it matches a time in their life. Maybe someone who listens to only classical music has been a musician all their life and that kind of music speaks to them. Maybe the person that loves the most mainstream pop music loves it because it takes their mind off of everything else going on in their life and it lifts their mood enough to forget everything else. Yet, there are still people who think it is completely OK to judge someone's choice in music. That makes sense, right?

Lastly, there's the people that say, "That's so mainstream". OK. The song is popular but that doesn't change someone's love for the artist, lyrics, or song. Why try to dissuade someone from listening to something that makes them happy? That they can relate to emotionally? That makes them think of a certain time in their life? Just because others think it is "mainstream" or "trash" or just "music about beer and trucks".

After being a musician for most of my life, I've still never understood why someone would insult someone's passion and the melodies that make them happy. Being open-minded and realizing that whatever someone else is listening to represents part of their life is what music should be about.