My love for country music. I can’t share this post without giving you a little bit of history on this love story of mine.

I used to hate country music. And I mean, hate. I was one of those people who would bash country music all the time, making fun of its lyrics, sounds, + artists (boy do I regret those years now!!! Ha!!). I’m not sure why I hated it so much, to be honest, but there has most definitely been a switch. What happened was this:

Caleb started listening to country music–not necessarily by choice but rather because that was all they would play (+ hence he could listen to) where he used to work for Harley Davidson. The more he was exposed to it, the more it grew on him (yes, we both made the conversion!!) + he would end up sending me songs + telling me I had to give them a chance because they were really good + they made him think of me. Well, OF COURSE I loved these songs (I am a sap + one of those cheesy romance kind of people … !!!), so in turn, I ended up listening to country music more + more myself. And, it grew on me, too.

I’m not sure what happened, but it was something. All of a sudden I found myself wanting to listen to country music … a lot!! And really, really liking it!! I couldn’t believe it. One day, my roommate finally called me out on + because she kept catching me listening to country music while I was editing. It was that moment I finally said it out loud:

Yes! I love this music!!! I am such a hypocrite!! I know it!! But I can’t hide my heart change any longer!!

And here we are. I’m a country music fan. Big time. What Caleb + I have realized, though, is that we feel so much happier when we listen to country music than when we listen to other genres (for example, we both used to listen to a lot of rap!! I am NOT saying that listening to rap is a bad thing–I still like it a lot!! All I’m saying is that for us personally, we have found that we are in a better mood + feel better overall when we are listening to country music vs. rap music!) Country music is–and I know there are definitely exceptions!!!–such down-to-earth, real life, feel-good kinda music : ) You can completely disagree with everything in this post + totally hate country music–I get it!! I’ve been there!! This is obviously all just an opinion : ) But after all is said + done, there really is no denying that I am SO glad I re-discovered country music + am proud to be a part of the country music fan community!!!

In honor of unashamedly proclaiming my love for country on the blog today, I am sharing my Top 7 “Go-To” country jams!! Ha!! Maybe you’ll enjoy them as much as I do, but either way, have an amazing Thursday!! xoxo!

1. Barefoot Blue Jean Night by Jake Owen

2. We Were Us by Keith Urban ft. Miranda Lambert

3. Leave The Night On by Sam Hunt

4. Dirt by Florida Georgia Line

5. Dirt Road Anthem by Jason Aldean

6. What You Do To Me by Dan + Shay

7. Chicken Fried by The Zac Brown Band