I didn't listen to music as a kid. My parents often played records and later CDs, sure, and the radio was always playing in the car. I have vivid memories of various songs from the late 90s and early 00s. But listening to music was never something I chose to do in my own spare time. So, when as classmate asked me in the 5th grade what my favorite band was, I panicked. Desperate to seem normal, I hemmed, hawed, and eventually deflected and asked her who she liked. She replied Green Day, and I was like "Ooooh them, yeah, I like Green Day too! :)" When my dad got home from work that night I asked him if we had any Green Day CDs, and he handed me American Idiot to listen to. I put it on and was quickly hooked, had the whole album memorized within days (I'm actually listening to the album as I type this and it turns out, I still do!). I feel grateful to that girl who told me she liked Green Day because, as far as a first foray into developing my personal taste in music goes, American Idiot was a pretty good place to start.