I’m going to be the first one to say it: I used to have the most arrogant view of the music industry in the entire world.

And by that, I mean I listened exclusively to Twenty One Pilots and Depeche Mode for roughly two and a half years of my life, which led me to believe that I had the most revolutionary music taste out of the 7.5 billion people who walked the earth.

I did not.

In reality, I totally deprived myself of an entire world of music, labeling it as “too mainstream” (yeah, I was that kid) or “repetitive.” I thank my guardian angels every day for allowing me to move past that stage of my life and open myself up to all sorts of music.

I’m now the proud creator of roughly 30 different playlists on Spotify, each between two and 12 hours long. They span genres and decades, from 40s swing to alt-rock to Latin – granted, my Mexican mother would totally kill me for calling my Latin playlist legit since it’s about 50% Pitbull, but I digress. In case you were wondering whether this is me humble-bragging, it totally is.

I’m proud of my broad taste in music. If you send me a song, I’ll probably like it and put it on repeat for at least 20 minutes straight (and then I’ll associate it with you forever, so that’s my little disclaimer to you).

I’m urging you, dear reader: BRANCH OUT. Even if you think you’ve listened to everything out there, I promise you haven’t. Music is a form of self-expression, so the appreciation of music is essentially the process of finding a way to relate and empathize with others. At least, that’s how it is for me.

You see, as my music taste grew and developed, so did I. I allowed myself out of the little personality box labeled “not like other girls” and stepped into the realm of openness and confidence in myself.

I’m not saying you have to undergo a complete transformation in your Spotify listening history. But maybe consider putting someone else’s playlist on shuffle before you set off to school in the morning.

You never know, maybe you’ll just so happen to find your new favorite Beyoncé-world-tour-worthy-performance-in-the-shower song.