Fandom

I like to think that we all have those things that give us that little extra sparkle regardless of how well the rest of our life is going at a given moment. Something that will give you pause in the middle of a store and send you spiraling into a dilemma of 'I don't really need this but OMG I want it'. I have more than one friend who hide stockpiles of yarn and fabric in various and sundry corners of their homes in an effort to appear normal. Like no one else has this problem. As if having something you are passionate about is shameful.

Only that isn't it.

It's not that people are ashamed of passion, it's that people are ashamed of having particular passions. Guilty pleasures. Vices. Whatever. There are very few people who step forward and proudly declare to the general populace that they MUSH, LARP, collect comic books, read/write fanfiction. . .the list goes on and on. And if people do admit to those sorts of things (unless you happen to be Felicia Day or Joss Whedon himself) you're not exactly regarded as one of the cool kids. Whatever that means these days. It's why I have plenty of friends who say they're going to 'fantasy football' instead of D&D or 'camping' instead of LARPing. Really, though, I guess it's a lot easier than explaining that you're off to a weekend where you plan to play a surface elf on a quest to rid the Southerlands from the evils of the Litch King who has seized the throne. I guess the thing is that I just don't really see why it should matter. Why should there be an embarrassment factor here when people who are health nuts or avid Sox fans are taken in stride?

Then again, maybe someone who is contemplating going to the HP opening tonight as Luna Lovegood shouldn't be making this argument.