The world can learn a lot from fangirls.
I recently was at a concert in Prague for The 5 Seconds Of Summer Show. I got there a day early to camp out for the show. Yes, a day early and at 3pm the day before I was number 55 in line. We will dive into the topic of camping another time. When I arrived I looked around at all the different groups of people, primarily young women sitting on their blankets, eating Mcdonalds and I noticed so many different languages being spoken. I met fans from over 10+ countries attending that specific concert.
Laying out on the streets together that night, we all laughed, shared bracelets and made sure we all stayed safe and warm. You can say what you want about camping for a show but I think it’s one of my favorite parts of concerts. I love meeting new people from all over the world, hearing stories and creating chaotic new memories. Oh and contrary to what some of you think we do shower even when we camp for a show. Crazy, I know! The next day we hid from the rain together and respected the fan made number system as 100’s more fans started to arrive.
Once it was time to go inside we did the dreaded walk to barricade and ended up in our spots for the show. My favorite part of every show is looking into the crowd and seeing 1000’s of strangers become so united singing and dancing to their favorite songs together. The fan experience allows for people of all walks of life to come together with the same purpose of loving their favorite artist. This show in particular was filled with so many fan projects, different colors and flashlights moving up and down. This was the last show of the tour and the crowd definitely made it a special one.
I see a lot of people upset on social media about fan’s traveling to concerts in other countries but I think it’s beautiful. In a world with so much hate and so much division, concerts do the opposite. Nothing matters at that moment, just singing every single word to your favorite songs with your favorite band. Music has a powerful way of bringing people together, one that we desperately need right now. Meeting fans from around the world shows me we are so much more similar than different. There is an unspoken rule in fandom that if you like the same band there is this instant trust you have with the person. That does not change whether you speak the same language, share the same religion, eat the same food, wear the same clothes, or live on the same continent.
People see fangirls as emotional, and crazy but I think that’s what makes us so special. We love unconditionally and passionately, and our sole purpose is something that spreads light and positivity to so many people. Fandom isn’t perfect and we can’t solve all the world's problems with concert tickets but there is a magic to it that you can't replicate anywhere else.
The world can learn a lot from fangirls.
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