What defines personality? What defines reality? What defines how you live your life? Religion, location, family, friends, social standing, hobbies — these are only a few components of what makes a personality. In our culture, The Great American Mixing Pot, there are too many "personality trends" to keep track of. Take a look at the stereotypical high school template: you have the jocks, the mathletes/know-it-all's, cheerleaders, preps, gothics/emo's, the overlooked, over-achievers, try-hards, etc.

But have some groups taken these personality trends too drastically? Have the high school stereotypes taken over our lives post-graduation, not just in the halls of academia? Has society erased the line between a hobby or interest and a complete lifestyle engulfment?

A huge hobby that began in the lives of little girls, grew to TV, broke through to middle-aged men and college-aged women, and has taken over the internet is "My Little Pony."

Is anyone else mildly creeped out by the massive obsession with the rainbow horses? What can be so captivating about cartoon ponies with squeaky voices prancing around together on the clouds? I understand how small children could love the show: most things are rainbow, sparkly, or pink, everything is pretty and children love ponies. But how did these little guys take over the lives of 30- to 50-year-old men?

Now, I have several elementary-aged cousins, four nieces and nephews, and my job is to tutor children in school. That being said, I have had my fair share of hearing about "My Little Pony," but out of all of the children that I deal with, not a single one has been totally captivated by this show. Bobby Miller of Icrontic wrote a brief history of how "My Little Pony" began in the 1970s and morphed into an ever-growing community. Miller's argument pro-loving "My Little Pony" attempts to explain why grown men obsess over it. However the article only shows the origin of the trend and how those in a specific community grew to love it.

Being an avid Reddit user myself, I decided it would be a good path to find what the "Bronies" of Reddit really like about the show. Below are some screenshots that I took directly from a Reddit post in which user @Dagongent asked, "(serious) Bronies of Reddit, why do you like My Little Pony so much? What's the appeal? Is 'Brony' derogatory to you?"

If you read through these replies by @schizophrenicGhost, he, as a "Brony" clearly states that the comfort in finding a character that he could relate to was what drew him in rather than the appeal of style, or even of colorful ponies with high-pitched voices. This seems like a much more logical consistency than a grown man simply stating that he loves the show because everything about it is amazing. Relating to a specific personality trait portrays a common human need to connect to someone else like themselves. It seems as though the true reason that people have grown so obsessive and attached to these pastel ponies is because in the past they have not been able to have a serious connection with someone (or more than just one or two people) before.

Could it be that finding yourself incarnated as a cartoon pony may solve the natural human need for a network of likeness? It almost looks like most of the adults who love "My Little Pony" have little to no social life and have hardly ever left their house and/or comfort zone a day in their life. Therefore, "My Little Pony" releases these undiscovered personalities into a fantasy-world comfort zone where they can not only hide from reality, but they can find their own reality as well. What do the rest of us do? Would you continue ignoring those trapped in a false reality or would you pull them out and show them the tangibility of the physical? Make your decision, because chances are you will have plenty of chances in the near future to encounter and/or befriend a "Pegasister" or a "Brony!"