MJ, whose formal name is Marijane, is a fifteen year old freshman. With her distinct short pink hair and her headphones, she moves around the school like there’s nobody around her. What isn’t obvious is her choice of music: mostly rock from the 80s-00s.

MJ’s interest in older rock music started on Christmas Eve of 2016, when her boyfriend broke up with her. She found herself sad, angry, and confused, and then she was out with some friends and she heard the song “I Don’t Love You” from the band My Chemical Romance. It was like all of her feelings were right there in that one song.

After that, she investigated more about this band and others from the same time period. Watts now is a dedicated fan of this kind of music, which has given her more than one uncomfortable situation. People have laughed at her because of the way she dress and the music she listens to. “I’m not going to change myself for someone standards, the only opinion I care about is my families,” she says.

Watts believes that rock from between the 80’s and 00’s is better than the music on today’s hit radio. “These bands are are from such a different time, they did not care about other people’s opinion. They sang with all their heart,” she says.

MJ’s friend, freshman Abigail VanderBerg, supports her love of unconventional music.

“Most of the time, society tells you how to live your life and it can be really frustrating. Music is a great way of getting out of that,” she says. “Everyone should find their thing, MJ has found music and that’s great.”