As a now 22-year-old, it may not surprise you to learn that I lived and loved One Direction through all my most telling years. July 23, 2010, 8:09p.m. (UK). To most people, that’s just another date and time. But to me, that date meant more to me than Christmas, my birthday, and Earth Day combined. Because on that day, the gods (and Simon Cowell of course) all aligned to bless this planet with arguably the most talented boyband yet: One Direction. Now in 2020, it’s ten whole years later. I feel old.

Okay so I’m a little biased. But all kids / tweens / teens have had some sort of obsession. Justin Bieber, the Jonas Brothers. BTS. New Kids On The Block. And at my age, if you weren’t a Beileber, you were a Directioner. Anyway, you get the point. I was quite obsessed with One Direction, and now ten years later, all the feels are coming into play.

In my biased opinion, I hold them on a pedestal comparing them to the modern day Beatles. But after careful reflection and examination, I suppose One Direction’s music targeted teen girls more than all-time great hits (though they’ll always be hits for me).

For those who aren’t familiar with the boyband, all five boys – Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik – individually auditioned on the UK X Factor in 2010. After each boy got eliminated in various stages, Cowell – a judge and music producer – had the earth shattering idea to turn five average individual artists into one mega, mind blowing, ultra boyband: One Direction.

Then for years, the boys’ success reached all-time highs. They sold out world tours, appeared on various shows, sang best-selling singles and albums, and have an infinite worldwide fandom. Now, ten years later, the boys are celebrating their decade-long success.

In 2015, Zayn decided to leave the group. There are certain times in your life where you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing. Well I was in art class and after hysterically sobbing in the middle of class, I was excused the rest of the day. Between 2016 and 2018, the rest of the members individually released singles, and their hiatus turned into a split.

In my heart of hearts, believe all of them still have group chats and occasionally hang out. All four – minus Malik – posted for the decade celebration. In Styles’ post, he wrote, “to the boys, I love you so much, and I couldn’t be prouder of everything we achieved together. Here’s to ten.”

So while it may be time for me to acknowledge that there will be only anniversary celebrations instead of album release parties, I’ll never get rid of my Niall cardboard cutout, One Direction dolls, customized jewelry, and movie poster. Forever a Directioner <3