Fangirling

F is for fangirling. This may be a concept unfamiliar to some, but is definitely a ‘thing’. Further, it is a ‘thing’ I have embraced and am absolutely inspired by a lot lately.

Fangirling is a term that essentially describes a borderline mania regarding something you absolutely geek out about. Most commonly this will refer to belonging to a certain ‘fandom’ with varying degrees of obsession. While I have definitely embraced being a Fangirl, I like to believe mine are in healthy and respectful limits. Sadly this is not the case for everyone, but that’s for a different post. I like to look on the bright side of fangirling.

First, I would argue that Fangirling is not limited by age (or gender as some joke that guys freaking out about something are Fangirling 😉 )

Also, Fangirling can happen to anyone. I am almost 40 years old. I am happily married with 3 boys and a full time job. I have a very normal- if somewhat busy – life. And yet, I am a hopeless Fangirl. 🙂

What do I Fangirl over? Well, anyone who knows me, or has read this blog, knows most of my Fangirl love is focused on Tom Hiddleston. But throughout the rest of this A to Z challenge, you will see me focus on other objects of my Fangirl love in later posts. Come back tomorrow for G which will be Game of Thrones Fangirl gushing, or the Wednesday post for H to share my Harry Potter love. K will be for Katniss (and my Hunger Games Fangirling). S could be for Sherlock, but I have something else for S, so it will probably be W for Watson where I share my Fangirl love for the BBC series Sherlock. As a note, if Tom had not my Fangirl heart, it might have been Benedict Cumberbatch’s. But I have Fangirl love for the entire cast and the writers of that series honestly. 🙂

Thanks to the internet and all forms of social media, it is quite easy to foster a Fangirl interest (or obsession). For example, take my Hiddleston Fangirling. It was all innocent enough at first. I was just looking at the actor who played Loki on Pinterest. (There are some funny memes that say. “I just wanted to know the actor who played Loki, I never asked for any of this!” So true ehehe) Oh he’s really nice looking I thought, with his natural hair instead of the long black hair. So let’s look at some more pictures – gee there are a lot. And then, Oh aren’t those memes funny? Must scroll through more. And then, Doesn’t he look like a lot of fun? Well, I should watch an interview or two. And okay another. Maybe one more.

It can become a sickness. But it was the Nerd HQ 2013 Interview panel with Tom Hiddleston that sealed my fate as a Hiddleston Fangirl. It’s an hour long and beware you may also lose your Fangirl heart if you watch it. He’s ridiculously smart and charming. Yes, I am putting a warning label on it. It should come with one. 🙂

But you can find all manner of the same type of posts on the internet/social media for any fandom you join. I find it quite a lot of fun. But also inspiring.

How is it inspiring you may ask? Well for one thing all the many Fangirling moments are fun and make me smile. And really, don’t we all need a little more in our life, however silly, that makes us smile? It is for this reason I gave myself full permission to Fangirl out. It makes me smile. 🙂

But here are some other ways:

This Blog! The title of this blog (and part of inspiration to do the writing challenge, and this blog to accompany it) was from my Hiddleston fangirling. Read my initial post for the blog that explains the motivation and the name.

This Challenge I saw this A to Z challenge on Twitter, which I joined at first just because I wanted Tom’s tweets. (Hush!!!). I actually quickly found I had to create two Twitter accounts. One for writing and one for Fangirling. I saw I had way more Fangirl tweets and didn’t want to scare off potential writing connections. I have enjoyed both quite a lot.

Poetry I found The Love Book app which I write about in my D post – Desiderata through a Fangirl binge on Pinterest. And now I have a whole new appreciation for poetry. One that has made me smile a lot, too.

Exercise Believe it of not my Fangirl love for Sherlock had me getting on the treadmill at night so I could get caught up with all the episodes. Sadly now we are on hiatus so I’ll have to find another show to obsess over so I check back in on treadmill. Downton Abbey, maybe? 😉

There’re lots more ways I have been inspired, but I will be covering those in later posts.

Below is a favorite quote by Simon Pegg ( I have lots of Fangirl love for him as well!! ) which is about being a geek, actually, but I think applies very much to Fangirling. I love it. Hopefully you will too and hopefully you give yourself permission to geek out or Fangirl out about something. Please share with me in the comments what you Fangirl over. I would love to hear it!

Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It’s basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating.

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