Everyone gets into their favorite groups, bands, actors, characters, or anything somehow. Some are what I like to call "calm storms", in that they just gradually over some period of time grow to enjoy a certain type of art or music. Others...not so much. There are certain cases in which a person can compare their descent into "fandom life" as one of unconditional love, support, and undeniable pain.
Am I exaggerating? It may seem like it. But because the latter is very much NOT an exaggeration and because it's so much more amusing to talk about, I'm going to highlight it. Here are the six stages of becoming a fan of some spectacular thing, regardless of your age or gender, as told by other die-hard fans (likely found on Tumblr).
(For the purpose of this article, we will refer to said "spectacular thing" as the almighty "IT".)
1. Interest
It has begun. At some point, you were probably just scrolling and surfing around online when you stumbled upon it. That, or maybe you overheard someone else talking or listening to it. The fact of the matter is, in some way, shape, or form, you found it.
It's an enigma to you right now, but for whatever reason, there's some little niggling at the back of the brain that's whispering "THIS IS VERY INTERESTING HMM."
No? Well, it's something like that. Probably. Most likely.
2. You look for more.
Remember that one moment of weakness where you managed to pick up on it somehow? Minutes, hours, days, even weeks have passed and it's still lingering in your head. It's incredibly annoying, and in order to get it out of your brain, you decide to look it up. The one way to get something off your mind is to give yourself some relief and look it up, right? Right?
Wrong.
3. You listen to more, you watch more, and you fall HARDER.
Big mistake. Somehow you've gone from listening or watching one thing to going on an endless binge of this THING that you cannot explain. And for whatever reason, you find that your heart beats a little faster when it appears on the screen, when it laughs or when it sings, when it speaks and even when it doesn't. Why is your body suddenly reacting to it? No one knows, but it's a simultaneously terrifying and spectacular feeling.
4. You stalk that stalk.
Preferably not in a creepy way; you might get arrested. But online, there are no boundaries (mostly). Before you realize it, you've watched nearly everything there is to watch about it, listened to everything there is to listen about it, read everything there is to read about it...the better question at this point would be: have you slept?
5. The inevitable end
All great things do come to an end. Maybe the it's reached its finale, maybe it went on hiatus or broke up, or maybe it's just that the overwhelming love you had for it just gradually slowed to a simmer. It can take some time to get to this point, and maybe you're still at such a high that you can't imagine it ever happening. But there is one thing that should always remain true - it will always hold a special place in your heart for the time you spent holding onto it for dear life. Even though you may not completely obsess over it anymore doesn't mean you love it any less.
6. You meet a new 'it'.
Repeat stages 1-5. It's a never-ending cycle, believe me.
