This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Gettysburg chapter.

Having been a fan of One Direction since 2011, I have grown up with the boys by my side. The picture above is from a One Direction concert I went to with my sister in 2014! Although I am biased towards Niall Horan, I love all the boys! Yes, of course I realize that I will never know them personally, but they have indirectly given me so much advice through their lives and music. I feel as if they are all very good role models! For example, they ACTUALLY keep their personal life personal, unlike other celebrities whose flings are openly out in the media. I feel that seeing them decide what to share with the world and what not to has helped me decide what I tell people in my everyday life. I won’t just go up to a stranger and tell them my whole life story; I save my super personal information for my close group of friends that I know I can trust and who will have my back every step of the way. Also, especially concerning Niall and Louis, the boys have matured greatly in their singing talents since their 2010 appearance on the X-Factor. Seeing their confidence build over the years inspired me to have more confidence in myself during my early teenage years. I remember fandom trends going around Twitter, such as #givelouismoresolos and #giveniallmoresolos, which showed the support that One Direction fans had for these boys while they were drastically improving their singing abilities with voice coaches. Additionally, seeing the boys’ images and personal styles evolve from a boy-band image to a coherent yet individualistic style was empowering for me because it led me to find my own style and not care about what anyone else thought about my fashion choices.

Comparing the boys’ looks from 2010 to now, you can really tell that they have embrace who they are and who they aspire to be. Their individual styles give off vibes that they want to showcase to the world. For example, Harry has a more feminine and formal look, while Niall and Louis have a more laid-back yet still put-together style. Zayn’s look is more grunge, while Liam tends to wear a more hip-hop style. All of their individual styles showcase their new sounds after going solo, which I absolutely love.

I adore hearing music that the boys truly want to make without them having to compromise about how they want to sound– they can express themselves individually, and you can really tell that they dreamed of going in such different directions with their music. Another reason why the boys are good role models is that they use their fame and fortune for good by supporting charities that they truly want to be involved in. For example, Niall recently donated the money he received for his birthday to WWF and American Red Cross to help support recent disasters, such as Hurricane Dorian and the Amazonian forest fires. Seeing celebrities that I really look up to use their money for good inspires me to do more good in my own life, be it donating money to a charity, helping out my friends when they need me, or just saying hi to try to make someone’s day better. Thanks to them, I am inspired to go around making everyone’s day better. The boys are so nice to their fans as well, always responding to tweets and thanking us for supporting them throughout the years, which always makes us feel good as a fandom since we are making the people we support happy.

Comment down below if you like One Direction, or any of the individual boys in general! I would love to talk and meet more people that share the same interests as me.

Fandom Week: How One Direction Impacted My Life

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