Contributed by Molly O’Connor

I recently found myself in a car at two in the afternoon on a Thursday booking it to Minneapolis to do something I normally would not open up about, but here goes.

I attended an R5 concert.

There I said it. Now go ahead and mock me, because I can be caught occasionally jamming out to Disney Channel family acts. But here’s the thing: while you’re making faces at my music choice, don’t forget that somewhere down the line someone is making fun of your tastes too.

I have been relentlessly teased for what can be discovered on my iTunes by family, friends, and coworkers. Phrases I seem to hear most often nowadays are as followed:

“You don’t seem like the kind of person to like this.”

“Why would you waste your money on this?”

“What’s with all the movie scores?”

Um, pardon me, but I like what I like; I will happily throw down money when I love and cannot live without something; movie scores are the actual best.

So, there I was in Minneapolis, standing in line with about 2,000 preteen girls and their moms wondering how I got here. As the Peddle Pub passed by with a bunch of beer soaked 40-somethings hollering about our music choices, I rolled my eyes as mightily as Liz Lemon and was overcome with a very original epiphany: who gives a crap?

Yes, I like R5. And a week before classes started this year I took an 11-hour road trip to Detroit to see 5 Seconds of Summer and One Direction at Ford Field. Back in July, I spent 20 bucks to see MKTO at the Varsity. I’ve seen Gaelic Storm perform at Irish Fair three years in a row, and four years ago I had the privilege of seeing Lady Gaga at the Xcel Energy Center. So, yes, I like pop music, but that’s not all I listen to.

I have the entire anthology of The Beatles as well as Led Zeppelin. Vampire Weekend? Their song “Diane Young” is pretty much my anthem. The 1975 is so alternative and wonderful it pretty much hurts my heart. Regina Spektor has given me more inspiration for getting a tattoo than anything else in the world. And nothing makes homework more stimulating than jamming out to the perfection that is The Lord of the Rings film score.

My point to this long list is this: I have a widespread eclectic taste in music, so what gives anyone the right to insult anyone else’s preferences?

I hardly think anyone should be reprimanded for liking a certain genre or artist over something else. One of the first friends I made in college listens to screamo and I find it terrifying. Another friend is obsessed with Eminem while I think he’s got a major stick up his butt. Just because they like something I don’t doesn’t mean I’m going to waste my breath on vocalizing every negative thought I have on the subject.

People who try to bring others down on what they should or shouldn’t listen to have a tendency of crossing a line that transforms them from being a friend making a innocent suggestion to being a tremendous jerk who feels entitled to change the way people can enjoy a simple pleasure. Why should I be made to feel like crap by attending a concert for R5? What makes it acceptable to call me insane for knowing all the words to a One Direction song?

As I swayed back and forth amongst the throngs of tweens who have yet to master the art of properly applying deodorant, watching the hilarious and acceptable pelvic thrusts of Ross Lynch, it occurred to me that no one should be made to feel bad for preferring one band over another.

Sorry I find dubstep to be a close resemblance of two Autobots wrestling in the street. I will never understand the obsession with most rap music nowadays (because really, I’m a little tired of hearing about big fat butts going wiggle wiggle wiggle). Just because I don’t dig these genres doesn’t mean that dubstep or rap is any less important than what I find catchy. We all have different opinions, and isn’t that the point of having different music genres?

We’re entitled to like what we like, so let’s accept this and move on from being music snobs to one another.