I may be a preteen girl

My name is Matt Peyton. Some of my favorites include ESPN, the color green and Strawberry Pop Tarts. However, this is not how fellow iTunes users know me. To them, for better or for worse, I am "Jenkinson 106 rocks!"\nLet me explain. The digital music program iTunes has a feature that lets other users share playlists. What this means is that I can show my CD collection to whoever is using the program in my area. They can see every song that I own and I can see all of theirs.\nThat's just no good.\nOh sure, it's fine having Coldplay, Snow Patrol and a little Sugarcult on there. And I don't mind people knowing I listen to artists such as U2, John Mayer and Ben Folds. But what happens when someone takes a closer look?\nI'll tell you what happens. They find the darker side of my music taste; Michelle Branch, Maroon 5, Avril Lavigne and even a little Ashlee Simpson. \nMoreover, they can't tell what music I listen to the most. So as far as the kid down the hall knows, I sit in my room all day listing to Avril rock "Sk8er Boi" and "Complicated" while busting out some air-guitar. Just for the record, I do not.\nBut let me take a minute to defend my preteen music taste by saying that there are scenarios, from time to time, in which some of those songs are beneficial to listen to. The other day, I was sick of listening to the same songs over and over again while doing some work so I turned on a little Ashlee Simpson to chill out. I'm not going to lie; it was very enjoyable. I even found myself mouthing the words to "Pieces of Me."\nSo anyway, while I was sitting in my room feeling very self-conscious about my music, I thought I'd check out what other kids were listening to. What I found was startling. Some people listen to really weird music. Not just music that is unpopular or eccentric--it's just downright weird. \nOne person has multiple songs by the artist "Bagpipe." I thought it was a cool enough band name so I decided to check it out. Interestingly enough, the songs were not by Bagpipe but rather performed with bagpipes. \nI decided to move on. \nAnother person had a playlist titled "Study Music." I thought it was a neat idea so I took a peek. The list started off fine with a little Beethoven and Bach, but then it rolled right into the "Jurassic Park" soundtrack. I mean, I've heard of working better under stress, but simulating the sounds of a huge dinosaur chasing you through the jungle to get a paper done on time? I don't know, but I'm not here to judge. \nBut at that point I decided that if these songs grace people's playlists they obviously don't care what others think about their music. Anyone with a playlist that has 187 Survivor songs in it has to be fairly self-confident (I promise, I'm not making this up). \nSo at that moment of epiphany it was as if a weight had been lifted off me. I am free to listen to whatever music I want to without worrying about being judged by my peers. Therefore, I have decided that I won't stop showing my playlist to the campus. Instead, I will be myself and celebrate my individuality. \nEven if it means being perceived as a preteen girl.