Fangirl Problems

Being a fangirl in a mostly male fandom can be... challenging, to say the least. Life as a fangirl can be tough, when you're the only girl around who is really into Marvel/DC or Star Wars.

Here are just some of the problems we face. I'm sure some lonely fangirl in a distant corner of the globe can relate to this.

1. Shopping woes: Tell me if this story sounds familiar. You are shopping for clothes... Girls t-shirts - glitter, flowers and some random quote about love that makes absolutely no sense. Boys t-shirts - official comic merchandise that is every fan's dream. If you're going to look for Avengers t-shirts in the girls section, you might as well look for water in the desert. I would say I have gotten used to the strange looks the store employees give me as I try on different boys' t-shirts. But then, what choice do I have? The world we live in is anything but fair. 
2. Forever alone: The geek stuff is not something you can talk about with your clique. The girls in my clique don't care who played the best Spiderman or that Aquaman has got a sick new look. Finally finding someone to geek out with is like finding a needle in a haystack... that one, rare, precious needle you never want to lose. 
3. Watching in theaters: I am jealous of how guys can just grab their buddies and go to the cinema every time a new comic book movie hits the theaters. Not having fellow fans to go with really sucks, and crippling social anxiety prevents me from going by myself. So, in the end, I'm left stuck at home, missing out on so much. 
4. Blatant sexism: "Why do you like that? It's for boys." "You like superheroes? Are you a boy?" "That's not very lady-like." *deep breath* Why don't you do the world a favor, and shut up?
5. Certain misunderstandings: This has happened on more than one occasion. Some distant relative or cousin brings a present that is clearly some pretty cool merc, and gives it... wait for it... to my brother! NO! I'm the one who's into it! Me! Not him! He's into pro wrestling and pokemons. I'm the one who's collecting Marvel merchandise! Give it to me! What follows are two hour long negotiations with my brother, discussing what I would give him if he were to give me the stuff. I have to fight for merchandise every single time. 

 So, there you go. Just some of the many problems faced by us fangirls. Sure, life is tough. But we'll get by. Right now, we're just counting down the days left for Logan.

Just 35 days to go...

 

Pulled into a book

Every successful writer has a writing style that they have made all their own. A style so complex, advanced and evolved, that they are truly its masters and creators.

I was asked who my favorite author is; I didn't really have an answer. I am an admirer of different styles; styles that evoke entirely different moods and emotions.

On this occasion, I must admit, that it took me a long time to finally get started on the Harry Potter franchise. It is something that I've, rather embarrassingly, missed out in my childhood, and, as of now, I am yet to read the last three books.

Thursday night, I finished Goblet of Fire, and that book left me in a puddle of my own tears. I was depressed all night, as though a Dementor had been in my vicinity. It was not a pretty feeling. But it was a great book, as only the great ones manage to squeeze out a tear from the reader. And it's purely due to the way J. K. Rowling has paced the story, and her style of writing.

It is soft, sweet and emotional. Vulnerable. Moving. Engaging. Like a river, soft in itself, but able to cut through mountains; cut through the hardest hearts. With this style of writing, she had me at her mercy by the end of the book. I was lost, saddened, confused... I was an emotional wreck.

I needed comfort. I needed solace. I turned to books that I trusted to wipe my tears. Those of Lee Child.

I grabbed my copy of Never Go Back to pull myself out of my misery. And it worked. Partially. It was like crying on the shoulder of an old friend, over a lover who gave you an amazing time and then left you with a broken heart.

Reading Lee Child was like getting the big warm hug I so badly craved. There was no pain in this. No slow, soft stabs with deaths of beloved characters.

Child's writing is more or less the opposite of Rowling's. It's hard, unemotional, sharp and edgy.  It's very technical and has got a certain mechanical smoothness. Cold. Relentless. Unapologetic. The kind that translates to, "Stop crying and get over it."

That is what I love about these writers and their specific styles. They have the power to engage the reader with their writing. To grip us by the throat and pull us into the deepest fathoms of their imaginations, until we are one with the characters. One with their journey. One with the story. They are more than just words on a page. It is an experience, forever remembered and cherished.

So many different styles; all so powerful; incomparable. I will always find peace from this busy world, between the pages of a good book.

Stop Waiting

Time flies.

Here we are, at the beginning of 2017. The previous year flashed by in the blink of an eye. There is so much each of us have to do. And we are running out of time.


There is nothing as harmful and destructive as waiting. What are you waiting for? Waiting for the exams to finish. Waiting to get out of school. Waiting to get out of college. To get a job. To have a home. To start a family. Waiting for your life to finally begin?

If so then, buddy, you'll be waiting all your life. Waiting for nothing but sad, pathetic little excuses to keep you confined to the bland, boring normalcy. You'll be watching from the sidelines as your life rushes past you. Because you cannot pause time. You cannot pause your life so you can make a living. Because life goes on.

This is 10th grade. Don't go about writing books now; wait another year. They said.
This is 11th and 12th grade. Don't do anything but studies for now. Wait a couple of years. They said.

There was a part of me, screaming from the inside, suffocating under the stress. There was a part that wanted to be let out, to be heard, to be free. Every moment was precious, and I was done waiting.


Passion is like a fire, burning inside you. How long are you going to ignore it? Your dreams haunt you, making their presence known. How long are you going to keep setting them aside? All that gives life meaning, makes it beautiful, is rejected, disregarded and replaced by the chase after success as defined by society.

Life is too short to keep waiting. To live someone else's dreams. Your time is valuable. And it is limited. You have just one life, and you have to make the most of it. This is your life, and it's ending, one minute at a time.

Stop waiting. Go out there, and do all that you need to do. Take risks. And live life to the fullest.

Have a great year ahead.