Confessions of a Fan-Girl

Posted on | November 20, 2009 | No Comments

I like to think that I’m a fairly average person. I wake up, I go to work, I spend time with friends and family. I don’t really live an unusual or extraordinary life. But there are some times, often when people least expect it, when I go into full-on dork-geek-nerd mode and get down-right giddy.

Because I……am a fan-girl.

Yes, my Internet friends, I am that girl. The one who knows all the lyrics to the songs from the all-musical episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (life’s a show / and we all play our part). The one who owns more than 15 different Star Wars Pez dispensers and is a subscriber to the Star Wars Insider magazine. The one who bought her ticket to tonight’s opening night showing of Twilight: New Moon two and a half months ago.

I’ve always loved science-fiction and fantasy, ever since I first saw Return of the Jedi when I was six. I jumped up and down the day I learned to make the “Live Long and Prosper” hand signal with both hands. I skipped school the day the first Star Wars prequel came out in movie theaters. I own hardcover editions of every Harry Potter book, the last three pre-ordered from Amazon so they would be delivered to my house on publication day. I’ve actually read The Silmarillion.

In a graduate school writing class, one assignment was to write a persuasive speech on any topic of our choosing and then present the speech in class, pretending we were speaking to a specific audience. I pretended I was speaking to audience members at a Star Wars convention, as I tried to convince them that Darth Vader wasn’t a villain, but really a tragic –and misunderstood – hero. (I got an A.)

I try so hard to play it cool when really, on the inside, I’m a ridiculously giddy 13-year-old girl. And honestly? It’s one of my favorite things about myself. I love that I can still get so excited over things that are so simple and even silly. I love that I haven’t let myself get completely jaded and cynical. Maybe it seems childish, immature or just plain dumb to some people, but that’s okay. I’m having too much fun being a fan-girl to notice.

Some people are genuinely surprised when they find out just how much of a fan-girl I am. I’m not exactly sure what a sci-fi and/or fantasy fan is supposed to look like, but I guess I don’t fit the stereotype. And that’s okay. We all have so many different aspects to our personalities; this is just one part of who I am.

The part with a deep and abiding love for all things Ron Weasley.

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