Fan Girl: noun. An obsessive female fan (usually of movies, comic books, or science fiction).

Example: Me.

I alternate binge-watching Supernatural and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Cult classics are my oxygen.

I attend midnight premieres and frequent Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings marathons with friends.

When I wake up, the first thing I do is open my Tom Hiddleston dash on Tumblr.

I’m a fan girl.

And I’m not alone.

It’s funny, because this is something I embraced after my early teens, a time in which I resisted the urge to appear obsessed or even excited about anything: The Hunger Games? No thank you, it’s over-rated. Harry Potter? Meh. Doctor Who? Yawn…

You’re probably wondering: why didn’t I enjoy all of these fantastic things?

I don’t know why, but there was something so horribly unappealing about seeing people getting so excited and so purely happy about sharing something they loved with others. Back then, when I looked through my 14-year-old black-rimmed eyes, I was nothing less than irritated.

I guess you could say it was a phase.

I don’t know what triggered it, but somewhere along the way of adolescence I found myself plunged into the wonderfully senseless world of fandoms. And with each day, I find myself going just a few feet deeper into the rabbit hole. Take The Hunger Games, for instance.

I remember that I didn’t enjoy the first one all too much (a lot of tree-climbing) but then I read the next one: Catching Fire. I didn’t just love it—the ending left me with clammy hands and a pounding heart. And then I saw the movie.

I cried.

I’ve also starting attending midnight premieres; most recently The Hobbit. Anyone who hasn’t been to one probably doesn’t see the appeal: why wait around for hours on a Thursday evening and go to school the next day on an hour and a half of sleep for a movie?

The truth is that it’s not so much for seeing the movie first as it is to see it among people who love it as madly as you do.

And that’s really the essence of it all: you enjoy it among people who also love it and are excited about it.

It’s so much more fun to sing the soundtrack of Rent when you’re driving with fellow Broadway lovers.

It’s so much better to cry during Deathly Hallows: Part 2 with your best friend.

And there is nothing like a good debate on the best Doctor Who companion.

There is nothing like being a fan girl.

You’re probably thinking to yourself: I think I’m a fan girl (or fan guy).

Congratulations and welcome.