The first time I listened to the Beatles, I was sitting on the hardwood floor of my bedroom, reclining against the side of my bed. Balancing on my legs was my purple portable CD player, beside me a stack of discs. At the very top of the pile sat my first Beatles CD, a Christmas present from my uncle: a copy of the band's debut album Please Please Me. As I placed the shining disc in my player and pushed play, an infectiously energetic count-off came blasting through my headphones. “One, two, three, four!" My skin was suddenly covered in goose bumps. All it took were those four simple words, in an incredibly alluring British accent, and I was instantly hooked.

Lillian Speakman is a student at Hamline University.