I love One Direction. What did you do? Roll your eyes? Groan? Start judging me and my entire existence? Usually I receive a combination of the above when I say those four words. The next thing that happens (if the person I’m talking to hasn’t run away by now) is that I play a bit of a song or two, and the person admits that One Direction is not so bad.

So often, people judge an album by its cover, and limit their enjoyment of music because of their misconceptions about the band or genre.

So maybe there is nothing I can say that can make you like One Direction, but certainly there are exceptions to every rule you have constructed in your head about music.

For example, one of the most commonly hated genres has got to be country. Not to say there aren’t country fans at ETHS, but there are also plenty of people who would absolutely never listen to 99.5 FM unless they were being actively threatened by someone oh-so-creatively using a banjo as a weapon.

To those people, I’d suggest the beach-radio-worthy Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker or the windows-down-vibin’ American Kids by Kenny Chesney. If those don’t do it for you, try some older or slower tunes. For those who think indie music is kind of pretentious and wouldn’t listen to “the 1975” unless held prisoner since 1975, try Ancient Mars by the Zolas or a remix like Lose It by Oh Wonder (Jerry Folk remix).

And it doesn’t stop there, you can look into Hispanic music, rap, hip-hop, EDM, k-pop, or anything else. Sampling music from different genres and even cultures will not only expand your knowledge musically, but also socially, as you can understand a lot about different social groups by the things they sing about and the tone of their songs.

Even if you hate everything I’ve recommended, do not give up! There is something so amazing in expanding your horizons in music. You no longer have to scowl when someone says their favorite music is by the biggest baller out there, Beethoven. Instead, you can smile and bring up one of your own similar favorites.

The point being, judging people because of their music taste is just plain rude, and embracing different genres will be good for your knowledge of other cultures, for the variety it brings to your creative mind, and just for your happiness. Let’s face it: it’s really hard not to dance around to One Direction’s No Control.