I have a lot of fandoms.  I’ve hardly met a book, movie, music, what have you, that  I don’t like.  Outlander, Divergent, and Harry Potter, just to name a few.

They all mean a lot to me for many of the same reasons – strong, realistic characters, situations, and relationships – across the board.  When my back is against the wall and I don’t have a friend to turn to, my fandoms are there for me.  The characters are as real as they come.  I know they’re not, but I get so emotionally invested that they seem to be.  They are with me through the good times and the bad.  In some series, picking up a book is like going home for me.

My fandoms are one of the few places where I can be myself.  Some people still judge me for it, but that’s only because they don’t understand what my fandoms mean to me.  I don’t think they ever will.

My fandoms also help me learn things about myself.  They are how I make sense of and understand some of the things that happen to me in life.

In short, if I didn’t have my fandoms, I don’t know where I would be.