I have a confession... Hi my name is Von and I am a Fangirl.
I
know you’re all thinking something along the lines of ‘no duh’ - or at
least anyone that has encountered me before is thinking that - but it
wasn’t that long ago that I was too scared to let my Fangirl flag fly.
This might be because the whole stigma surrounding being a fan is
starting to break down but I still feel like I have to go into defence
mode whenever anyone asks why I care so much. And this is by people who
call themselves ‘fans’.
It
seems to have become the done thing (since Facebook made it cool) to
call yourself a fan of something. But the word ‘fan’ comes from
‘fanatic’ (not to be confused with the spinning thing that keeps you
cool in summer) which means it is something more than simply liking
something. It’s love - and I know to anyone out there that isn’t a fan
this sounds ridiculous, at least that’s what the looks I get from people
tell me. I used to believe them, think there was something wrong with
me for getting so involved in a fictional universe. Well not anymore.
I am here to tell you that I am a Fangirl, proudly so.
When
I say that I am a Fangirl, I don’t just mean that I watch a lot of TV
or read a lot of books, I mean that I actually care about these
characters, the people that create them and all the other people who
love them too. It sounds crazy but it’s kind of like a family - there is
something comforting about knowing that there are other people out
there that get you, even if the rest of the world doesn’t.
- Yes is it important to me that I am home in time to see that television show.
- Yes I really do need to spend hours creating an about me page for my Tumblr.
- Yes I need to reblog every one of those gifs!
- Yes I need to know all the spoilers.
- Yes I MUST go to the midnight screening.
- Yes I do have to get up at 6 am so I can be first in line to get that book.
- Yes I do actually need to vote in that pole because it matters to me if we win.
- Yes I feel the need to do random things that actors and writers ask me to.
- Yes I like spending hours arguing with people on message boards.
- Yes I will cry like someone has died when something heartbreaking happens.
- Yes I will spend 3 days in the rain without a tent just to be part of it all.
I
Fangirl over a lot of different things, and other people fan over many
more - they are all equal and they are all awesome. To love something
so completely, it’s an amazing feeling, so whatever gives you that
feeling is OK by me. (I am including of course sporting teams in this -
yes that’s right, the way you feel about the local football team is how I
feel about TV shows).
I
know there are people reading this thinking, that’s all very well but
you’re actually delusional. And to those people I would just like to say
- I know that these people aren’t real. I don’t think that these
characters or world’s actually exist. I’m not crazy (well I am a bit but
not in that way). Most of the time I don’t want them to be real, I mean
I don’t want there to be ghosts and demons and vampires because chances
are I would end up dead pretty quickly.
It’s
just that I find reality hard sometimes (I know everyone does but I
have a harder time then most - I think) and knowing that I can escape to
these fictional worlds where amazing things happen all the time - it
helps me cope. I find it hard to get out of bed in the morning because
bad things are happening - both inside and outside of my mind - but you
know what I have the latest installment of that TV show/movie/book to
look forward to, so I guess it’s not all bad.
Most
of all it’s fun. I mean come on - fantasy is fun. It’s crazy and
unpredictable and exciting... why wouldn’t you love it? The real world
sucks, it’s hard, slow and inevitably comes to an end so it’s important
to hold onto whatever gets you through the day.
So
next time you want to judge someone because you think it’s a little
crazy that they care so much about a fictional character or book or
movie or band or even sporting team, remember that it makes them happy,
it shows that they care and that can only be a good thing.
You might not understand it, but it’s important to me so I ask that you respect it.
Thanks for reading this incredibly gratuitous post. xx
