Country music, what comes to your mind when you hear or think about country music? Ex’s? Beer? Or maybe trucks? That’s what everyone thinks about. I think about deeper meanings or messages in the songs. Yes, most songs are about ex’s, beer, and trucks but I try and look past the “covers” or country music. A lot of my family is from Southern states such as North and South Carolina, Virginia, and Louisiana. That’s what I think about when I hear country music. I connect stories from my stories and memories that I have personally to the stories country artists try to communicate through their music. When I hear trucks, I think of Fords, Chevys, and Dodges with dried mud and dirt from the truck rally the past weekend. I hear ex’s, I think of support from your friends and family to help you get back on your feet. When I hear beer, I think a nice refreshing sip after a tough week. Or, I think about you sitting on the tailgate of your truck drinking a bottle or two with some of your buddies or your girl sitting next to you having a cold one with you. Country music takes me to my roots. Country music reminds me that not everyone in this world wants to go out and get intoxicated, act dumb, and end up in jail, dead, or being on the street at 9 o’clock in the morning asking where the nearest liquor store is. But most importantly, country music reminds me of what some people, including my family and me; value the most in this world. These things are love, Jesus, and working hard.