Illustration by Shenuka Corea

Hi, my name is Lina, and I am a music elitist.

I am a music elitist and I am not proud of it. I am a music elitist and I promise I am trying to change that about myself. I find the music taste of some people, including mine, better than that of others. So, I value our tastes more.

To be fair, I forget that music is about what some people enjoy and what others don’t. Sometimes it’s about dancing, other times it’s personal; sometimes, it’s just a meaningful experience. There are so many reasons to listen to music. Whatever yours are, you listen to music you enjoy. So why does it bother me if you choose to listen to Taylor Swift or Drake?

I don’t know. I’m trying to understand it and work on it.

My music elitism makes it very difficult for me to be in specific environments sometimes — I avoid parties because I feel like listening to good music. In gatherings, I force my music upon friends, because I would rather be in bed than listen to Fifth Harmony with people. I hold my hands together in every car ride when someone chooses a song that I hate, in hopes that I can control myself and not hit anyone — this hasn’t happened before, but no promises.

In my small world, where I listen to Thom Yorke and Jim Morrison more than I listen to my parents, it makes no sense to me why someone would choose a Katy Perry love song over one by Radiohead. In my little head, it makes no sense why anyone would choose to listen to One Direction when they could very easily listen to Led Zeppelin.

Hi, I’m Lina and I’m a music elitist. I’m a music elitist and I hate it. If I tell you I’m not judging you for your music choice, I’m probably lying. If I tell you I’m trying my best not to judge, I really am trying. I am a music elitist and I’m working on it. I will do my best to become a better person.

I have come a long way. Now, I’m able to block out music I don’t enjoy when I am with friends at gatherings. If anyone offers me the opportunity to be the DJ, I will be more than happy to do it. I will try my best to respect your music choices, because they are your music choices.

To all the music elitists out there, maybe one day good music will dominate the world, but for now, let’s try to be nice.