What I Like About Being a Grown Up

I have always hung out with what might be called "music snobs". It's not a bad term. I've just always been friends with people who were very choosey about their music. Their music defined their persona and so they were extremely selective about what type of music they would deem worthy. You know how it is when you're in Jr. High and High School - whatever music you listened to determined what group you hung out with. If you listened to hip-hop or rap or metal or glam or alternative - whatever it was...you adopted the clothes, the hair, the attitude, and the friends. Being that I changed schools somewhat often, I was able to be a shape-shifter and move from group-type to group-type - picking up a pretty eclectic music collection along the way. But NEVER could you cross-over. Metal hated rap, alternative hated pop and everybody hated country.

Well that's the beauty of being a grown up...you don't have to adhere to those rules anymore. I know that a lot of people still hold on to their musical loves and hates. You will NEVER catch me listening to Slayer. I just cannot listen to that for more than 15 seconds before I feel like sticking bamboo under my fingernails just to distract myself from the pain of the music. But nonetheless, I can freely envelope my collection of musical tastes that I've adopted over the years from my variety of friends and enjoy it, guilt-free and without fear of ridicule.

Ok, that's not true. I'm still very subject to ridicule. But now I'm a grown up so I can take it. So go ahead and make fun of the fact that I like country (and I'll defend that to the death and present you with a point-by-point thesis on how country music is the heart and soul of our American heritage) and go ahead and make fun of the fact that I will listen to Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body" followed by Bethany Dillon's "Beautiful" and finished off with a chaser of Def Leopard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me". It's ok that I'm a 28 year old SAHM in right-wing Orange County who listens to everything from worship to rock to rap. I can listen to whatever I want. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to hang my daughter's preschool crafts in the window whilst dancing to "My Humps" by Black-Eyed Peas.