If I said I love Britney Spears’ new album, the film Mean Girls and the Real World Brooklyn some would lose respect for me. Still more would lose respect for me if I said I was a cheerleader for four years in high school and it’s one of my life goals to run for Miss Wisconsin before I’m 30. My question is: why? Just because I enjoy a good dance beat every now and then? Is it because Mean Girls and the Real World aren’t mentally stimulating enough for you and therefore I am labeled as a dumb girl?

This kind of intolerance for simple tastes in music, movies and television are a social problem, especially in the collegiate setting. Many people who would label a taste for a pop band, a chick flick or a reality show would later like to say they are open minded and liberal and that they like every kind of music, except country and pop and boy bands and rap and the list goes on. The fact of the matter is, it’s the different tastes that people have in music that make us unique and also define our personality, not our intelligence.

What’s wrong with letting loose and dancing to a club beat every now and again or relaxing with a good mix of classic country? What’s wrong with amusing yourself with a different kind of comedy other than Superbad or Shaun of the Dead some weekend? And what’s wrong with setting goals for yourself? It’s not open minded nor is it liberal of someone to not accept or respect a person just because their taste in music or movies is, in your opinion, beneath you.

Some of you have probably already labeled me a dumb girl who isn’t worthy of your intellectual or cultural time based on my previous statements, but before you do, consider this: I also love Johnny Cash, Kanye West, Ben Harper and Flogging Molly. I would highly recommend great filmmaking like Gran Torino, The Departed, 3:10 to Yuma and Atonement. I’ve spent four months living in the largest city in Europe and appreciated Nike of Samothrace and the work of Renoir, Degas and Caravaggio up close and in person. I’ve canoed 50 miles in Canada with a 50 plus pound pack on my back. Cheerleading for four years in high school helped me to develop a strong self-esteem and build confidence that has allowed me to excel in school and in the workplace. I’m always trying to be the best person I can be physically, mentally and emotionally and running for Miss Wisconsin is a goal I’ve set for myself to help myself feel comfortable in my own skin. And I have a 3.5 GPA. Has your opinion of me changed? Maybe, or maybe not.

So, before you judge, consider this: one of the most exciting people could be standing right in front of you, someone who could someday turn out to be your best friend, even save your life; but that cheerleading jacket, hot pink cell phone and the jabber about the Real World Brooklyn stops you from approaching because, based on that information, she clearly isn’t on the same level as you. But her taste in many different genres of music and film, history and art and her acceptance for the fact that her best friend loves terrible 80s music, as well as her acceptance of your lifestyle and tastes, puts her a level higher.