The Louder and Harder, the Better

Do you listen to the music in your car at concert-quality volume, or are you normal?  I do, and always have, turned up my radio volume to levels that could quite possibly be heard in space.  Why you ask?  I can't really say when the obsession with loud music began, it has always just been the norm for me.  Every car I've ever owned has been modified in some way or another to make the music louder, heavier, more intense.  I have to feel the music in my bones.  Every guitar solo, every bass drop, every rabid scream, has to be at 11 out of 10 for my soul to hear it.

Now, when I was twenty years old, that kind of behavior was more acceptable than it is  now that I'm a bit older.  For some reason, society has decided that people who drive around with loud music blaring (no matter the genre) are somehow less than.  Irresponsible, trashy, most likely on drugs.  You wouldn't believe the nasty looks I get when I pull up to a red light, or into a parking lot.  Its almost as if I should be arrested right on the spot! It makes me think to myself  "You're somebody's mother, a grown-ass woman, you're supposed to have her life together."  I'm not a bad person, I swear!  I just like it heavy.  That's all there is to it.  Especially right now, since concerts are so few and far between, I feel like I'm going even more overboard just to try to replicate that thrill I get when I'm front row at a show.  I'm just trying to feel something. Something to take my mind off of all the craziness and uncertainty in the world right now.

I guess my question is this....is there a time in a person's life when they should start to tone it down a bit?  Is it irresponsible of me to pull-up at my kid's school blasting Psychosocial at full tilt? If I should be uninstalling my subs, how do I know when its time to say good-bye to that part of myself?  Do I get a letter in the mail? Like some kind of metal AARP card, that tells me I'm too old for that crap now, and that I'm probably eligible for a discount on hearing aids? Or do I just say to hell with the dirty looks, and just do whatever tf I want to do?  Should I just say "that's right, I am a grown-ass woman, and I will live my life to the fullest, every day, for as long as I'm alive?"  That sounds much more appealing to me.

So, if you ever pull up to a red light and your windows start rattling, don't get too annoyed by it.  You'll only be there for a second, and the person next to you head banging in their own little world might really, really need the mini therapy session.  You have two choices: you can either put up your horns and join them, or you can mind your own damn business.