#fiveyearanniversary

five years.

this month marks five years since the beginning of this blog! you may have noticed that i haven’t updated lately, and that’s because...

I’m happy to announce that I’ve really turned my life around, and consequently found it hard to recapture the negative headspace I was in when I started; I’m so positive and serene now, and --

--HAHA JUST KIDDING. i ran out of punchlines and energy.

anyway to celebrate this momentous occasion, i will be answering all of my fan mail and asks. ...i will be *pretending* that i am going to answer all of my fan mail and asks. all of them are woefully out of date, but i will devote to each and everyone of them the time and attention they deserve. it’ll be funny. and, you know, sad.

I just want to take this moment to write my appreciation towards EXO. If you’re someone who is passing by, you don’t have to read this. Scroll past it if you don’t want to… my feelings won’t be hurt.

In 2010, I became an official Kpop fan. Before EXO, I’ve had a history of liking kpop groups for a short period of time. For example, I liked Super Junior for 5 months before moving to Shinee for 7 months then Boyfriend, Beast/Highlight, Teen Top for a month then Infinite for 5 months. Yeah… I didn’t stay in a fandom for that long.

When EXO debuted on April 8, 2012, with barely knowing them, I’ve grown a strong attraction to them. From watching all of those teasers and prologue, I believe that’s where my interest start. Their showcase brought my attraction to them to heighten but that was all I know of them. When they officially debuted, they become the ultimate group that I stan. Yes, they became my favorite group on their debut date….. but…. I thought this was going to be another group that I’ll like for a month and move on. Well, a month went into two to three to a year to two years to four years and here we are today. Five years down the road and I’m still dedicated to supporting everything and anything that is EXO.

EXO has done so much for me in these past five years. On the day they debuted, I can honestly say that my mental health wasn’t considered normal. On the days that I’ve felt my lowest of lows, I could always rely on EXO to bring me back to my high moments. They are essentially my rock that holds me up… that keeps me grounded. I don’t know what would happen to me in a world without EXO but without them today, I feel miserable. On days where EXO are having their lows, I want them to know that, not just me, but all of the EXO-Ls would do anything to bring a smile to their face. To ensure that their insecurities about anything should be fruitless because we’ll stand up for them for anything.

EXO became my first for almost everything. The first group I’ve liked for more than a year, the first (and only) group that I have merchandise from. The first group I’ve ever gotten an album. The first for me to buy an album with my own money. The first to build a shrine for (it’s not really a shrine, it’s a bookshelf with EXO merchandise on it). The first to have posters of. The first to cover my wall since 2007. I’ve accomplished many things with EXO and I hope this continues into their sixth anniversary, seventh, fifteenth, maybe even after their disbandment. No matter if there was twelve, eleven, ten, or nine, I will support EXO and their former members. Maybe I’ll finally accomplished seeing them in person/concert.

They’ve worked hard for us. They’ve struggled and suffer for us. They’ve strive to show all of their capabilities for us. They’ve been pushed to the limit for us. They’ve done everything they could for us…. and I’m proud of them. I’ll always be proud of them. We should always be proud of them. Their hard work is paid off by our support.

Something I feel like I never get to say is how much appreciation I have for this fandom. I know that some of us might be crazy (*cough*sasaengs*cough*) but we show so much dedication towards EXO. Like the Times Square billboard shows some EXO-Ls dedication (which is simply amazing) but it doesn’t always have to be in a form of money. We show dedication through our support and willing to bring EXO awards and giving them recognition. We also have very talented artist, editors, authors who spend countless hours on artwork, videos, and fanfic for our viewing pleasure to which I have to say thank you to all.

I’m glad to be part of this fandom. I’m glad to be blessed with people like EXO because sometimes it feels like we don’t deserve them. No matter where they’ll be in the future, I will always be there for them. We always will. So thank you EXO for everything… thank you EXO-Ls for supporting them through everything.