How to be a fangirl

Let’s face it, we all have that ONE (or two, maybe three or more?) personalities we’d give anything to date even just for a day. 

It’s fun to pretend when you’re just talking to your friends (read: people who understand your level of crazy and who are there to smack you back to reality), but when you start assuming an entirely different identity and cross more lines than Catherine Zeta-Jones did in ‘Entrapment’ then that spells trouble.

I’ve seen the bad side of being a fangirl - and looking back I’m so thankful that Twitter was non-existent then! Let’s just say it’s lessons learned the hard way; lessons that I wish fangirls NOW would learn before things turn bad.

1. BE NICE. Of course that’s the first rule.

2. DON’T EXPECT TOO MUCH. Don’t expect them to remember what you tweeted. Well, unless what you said stood out from the bazillion tweets they get every minute, everyday. Don’t hate on them if they give you a blank stare or a polite, clueless smile when you see them and ask “Remember I greeted you good morning two weeks ago?” 

3. KNOW YOUR LIMITS. Once you get past the jelly-knees-I-think-I-just-died phase, approaching a certain personality gets easier. Sometimes they have friends (or family, or significant others) who are equally friendly and accommodating. But there’s a fine line between knowing them and knowing too much about them. If you get ‘exclusive insider info’ from them, do your best to keep it to yourself. Try not to meddle with their issues because there are sides you don’t know. 

4. DON’T GET CARRIED AWAY WITH YOUR EMOTIONS. While it’s okay to defend them from haters, bashing other fans wouldn’t get you anywhere. Bashing isn’t defending. Think before you blog or tweet - do you really need to tag a person’s Twitter handle in that hate-filled tweet you’re composing? Check your biases, facts and emotions before hitting that ‘Submit’ button.

5. DON’T TURN INTO A MONSTER. And by that I mean obsessed-crazy-fangirl-borderline-stalker-turned-poser. Don’t let being a fangirl rule and ruin you. Take everything in moderation. For a fan, being close to a personality should be a humbling experience, not a bragging right. 

One of the best things about being a fangirl is you’ll meet a lot of like-minded people you’d eventually become good friends with. Enjoy being one! :)