There comes a time in one’s life when an obsession over celerity occurs and it follows the five stages of grief because you begin to feel like a part of your life has been lost without them in your life. We may not like to admit that we are currently fangirling over someone because usually a bunch of 12-year-old girls are as well. It’s OK you’re not alone.
1. Denial
Stage one is denial. This stage occurs before you even know that you will soon stalk this celebrity on every platform of social media. For me, I was in denial about Taylor Swift. When "Red" first came out it was cool to hate her, and that is exactly what I did. I was in complete denial that her songs were catchy and I felt like she was completely overrated.
2. Anger
The next stage is anger. Something completely random involving the person will upset you to the moon in back. My moment was when my cousin got to go to the "Red Tour" and I didn’t. It was stupid and I was overly jealous at my 11-year-old cousin for going to a concert of an artist that I thought I didn’t like.
3. Bargaining
Stage three is a weird and sometimes long stage. I entered stage three the night of my high school Winter Formal when I purchased "Red" from Target and continued through Taylor Swift’s announcement of her album "1989" and release of "Shake It Off." Taylor had a new look, obviously a new sound and I began to bargain that "Red" was a “transition” between her country days and now her pop album. It made sense in my head and I became to retract the thoughts and feelings I convinced myself of having in stage one.
4. Depression
Stage four, depression, is different in every fangirl process. For example, when I went through my N*SYNC faze it was way to later for a reunion of the boy band. With T. Swift, I felt empty because I never thought I would be able to see her concert, and you read awesome stories of fans meeting her, and I never thought I would be that person.
5. Acceptance
The fifth and final stage is the most thrilling
because it continues until the gradual decline of the fangirling, or until the
cycle begins again. Here, you finally embrace that you obsessed over this
person and that they have become a part of your daily routine, whether that it is
jamming out in the shower to your favorite track or watching every movie they
star in. You no longer care what others think about this person or your
obsession. The “it is what it is” attitude sets in and you find the rest of
your fandom, which then become your hidden family. Also, your Mom may get upset
with your 30-second updates about Taylor, you’ve been warned.
