The life of a fangirl comes with many perks. Being part of a close-knit community that understands and shares your undeniable passion and admiration is a beautiful experience. There is nothing that can compare to those deep lengthy discussions about the storylines you love, to the characters you envy, leading late into the night.
The fangirl life is a rite of passage for most into the online universe. And yet despite it's founded status, the status of fangirl often gets so much stigma surrounding it in everyday conversation. But the amount of skills you learn from the fangirl lifestyle is incredibly valuable and underrated. Don't believe me? I'll prove it to you! Here are six important life skills that every fangirl has experienced in her online journey.
1. Resourcefulness
Stumbled across an image that you want to use for fangirling purposes, but no idea where it came from? Trying to find the best way of finally meeting your celeb crush? Being a dedicated fangirl comes with the most important quality of all - determination. That drive of ambition turns these ordinary individuals into inquisitive detectives, with a passion for internal satisfaction and total domination. They will leave no stone unturned. The feels shall be conquered!
2. Artistic Expression
Weather it's fanfiction, art or beautifully crafted videos, you are guaranteed to find it everywhere online. The fandom community encourages and loves for it's participates to create their own works of art dedicated to the cause. The amount of time and detail - the blood, sweat and tears - spent on every brush stroke, every minute of the craft pays off when the final picture is complete. The end result is beautifully shared amongst members of the community, who celebrate the accomplishments of their fellow peers. And with digital media taking over, you never know, your work of art may just be picked up by your favourite actor surfing through instagram!
3. Socialising
Along your fangirl journey, you are bound to stumble across the depths of the internet. From the Tumblr theory discussions to live twitter chats about your fictional crushes, you will meet others like you from across the world. You'll learn the differences between your cultures, and also how similar you truly are. These are people that you will treasure throughout your journey, who you will begin to form life long friendships with. They are the people you CAPS LOCK when you squeal with excitement on Twitter. No lie.
4. Research Skills
Once you find yourself addicted to fictional dramas, you will want to know everything about them. It's the first stage of Fangirling. You'll find yourself scrolling through pages of IMDB and Wiki, attempting to gain a theoretical knowledge of the subject. Then you'll turn to in-depth YouTube Interviews by the people of interest, conducted by the likes of Ellen and Jimmy Fallon. This will all come in handy when your deep in fan war battles, and also when a newbie comes on the screen. Might as well catch up them to speed.
5. Indepth Analysis of 'Canon' vs 'Out-Of-Character' Actions
When you're a dedicated fan, you tend to know the ins and outs of the fictional characters you admire. You've invested part of your soul to their lives and their adventures. So when a writer/show runner, dedicates to create a plot-line that goes against everything you've ever known that character to be, your mind goes into overdrive. You begin to seriously analyse the episodes second by second, until you are able to find the mistaken nooks and crannies that don't fit together. It's your responsibility as a enthusiast to piece together the puzzle, to question the out of ordinary, unbelievable storylines.
6. Theories
As a dedicated fan, mystery is your frenemy. You absolutely hate not knowing the next stages of the story, but love the anticipation that comes with the unknown. From show hiatus's to long awaited book releases, you find yourself analysing previous storylines in hopes of drawing your own conclusions. You begin to find clues and draw conclusions from the past to predict the future. Using that deep founded knowledge, you begin to make educated guesses about what could be, from what has already been. The depth to these fan theories as astoundingly brilliant. Seriously, there are some amazingly detailed fan essays out there on the interwebs that would put English essays to shame!
What have life skills have you gained from the fangirl lifestyle?
Post a Comment