Say You Love Me

THE STAIRWELL SCENE.

THE STAIRWELL SCENE.

THE STAIRWELL SCENE.

THE STAIRWELL SCENE.

THE STAIRWELL SCENE.

I know it’s probably weird to say something beautiful has come out of this tragedy, but the collective sadness and grief we feel is a testament to how incredibly important the boys were to us as fans, especially for those in their most formidable years. How truly infectious their energy and camaraderie were for us to foster the connections we did, whether at concerts, over the internet, or just in spirit. How magical it was to exist in the same space they did for that short amount of time…

I experienced this kind of community on a smaller scale with NSYNC when I was growing up. They were how my childhood best friends and I bonded. Who liked Justin more? What was their best song and why was it Girlfriend (feat. Nelly)? Were we really Team NSYNC or secretly Team BSB? I’m sure if the internet was more developed during that era, we would have been publishing the awfully written cliched fanfictions that plagued our dreams. It was silly. Mistakes were made - JC is OBVIOUSLY the best member of that band - and lots of tears were shed when breathing the same air as they were. I never got to experience the latter, but the 1D shows felt awfully close to what I imagine they were like.

We’re all grieving for ourselves and the rest of the boys and Liam’s family. We’re all grieving the person we knew and the band that we loved to the point where we can just say someone’s name in a crowd of strangers and instantly connect. In this moment, we are truly not alone. The boys have allowed us to build a community around them and honestly, that’s pretty special.

I haven’t been active on here in the way that I was when the band was together, or even when they all went solo in the beginning, but going through my blog has been almost cathartic. I wish we could have reminisced with each other under more joyous circumstances, but for now, we have each other.