That feeling of loving someone you’ve never even met to an obsessive level is becoming a more common emotion. It’s hard to explain fan-girling, because of the broad spectrum of things that can be fan-girled over.
One can love TV shows, bands, music artists, actors, or fictional characters. Attractive male singers will always be the most obvious thing to fangirl over. “Bieber Fever” and “Direction Infection” seemed to quickly spread throughout America because of the handsome and talented young men the ‘diseases’ were centered around.
Admittedly, I completely fangirl One Direction. I actually go ape fangirling over quite a few obsessions, but 1D is definitely a big one. Senior Janae Ratliff is easily one of the biggest Directioners at school.
“I love them so much and I feel like they’re my best friends,” said Ratliff, “then I have these awakenings where I remember that they are professional singers, and that they all sing beautifully and I just cry.”
On a varied side of the spectrum, senior Alex Dudley also fangirls handsome celebrities from bands of a different sort. Dudley has actually met three of her loves, David Schmitt of Breathe Carolina, and Alex Gaskarth and Jack Barakat from All Time Low.
“They’re so wonderful and beautiful,” she said.
Of course, beauty and talent aren’t the only reasons to fangirl over someone. Dudley also loves Austin Carlile and Alan Ashby from Of Mice and Men, but not only for their obvious handsomeness. Austin also has heart problems, but he doesn’t let them detriment his career.
“They all have different stories,” said Dudley.
‘Fangirling’ isn’t restricted to girls. Senior Richard Strouse ‘fan-boys’ over the British TV show “Doctor Who.” Strouse describes “fan-boying” as an obsession with (typically) geeky fictional things.
“If the real world was anything at all like the real world, maybe I’d geek out over it a bit more,” said Strouse.
Spanish teacher Robert Snyder fanboys over pop icon and X-Factor judge Britney Spears.
“I love her very much,” said Mr. Snyder, “although she never tweeted me back when I tweeted her every day for a year.”
Snyder’s love for Britney has been around since he was a broke 19-year-old living in Tulsa when the video for “Baby (One More Time)” came out.
“I had a huge crush on her in the video,” he said.
Ever since her movie “Part of Me” came out in theaters over the summer, Mr. Snyder has also had a blossoming love for Katy Perry.
“Listening to them makes me happy and I forget about my worries,” said Mr. Snyder.
Finding that one show, celebrity, or band that you love can be life-changing or soul-consuming, sometimes even both.
“People judge me for listening to Britney, and I really don’t care,” said Mr. Snyder. “They can judge me when they pay my bills.”
The love fangirls and boys have for their obsessions is one that will haunt them for a lifetime because that’s what true love is.
