There is no age limit when it comes to FANDOM – and this is proven by this Lola (Filipino word for Grandma) who recently went to a Seventeen concert in Manila.
Note: Me was super impressed! You go Lola Carat!

Also, once you claim yourself to belong to a certain FANDOM, you will find yourself being pulled back no matter how hard you tried to shake it off because you were “adulting”. This is basically – in a gist – my love affair with Super Junior.

I did not start out to be a Super Junior fan. The first time I was hooked to Kpop was because of DBSK – and it was during their Mirotic days back in 2008. Also, I was hooked to Jpop then (oh Arashi!). And since DBSK was heavy on doing Japanese promotions, I kind of liked them immediately. Their sound had a Jpop influence (at least to my ears). Fandom at this moment was still at it’s early stages – but I never really considered myself as Cassiopeia (in case your wondering, that’s what DBSK fans call themselves).

I had a friend who was studying in China in December 2008. While Skyping her one day, she convinced (more like forced) me to watch a show of a group called Super Junior. She knew I was interested in Kpop and she wanted to introduce me to the craziness of the group.

Her bias? Hangeng
The Show? Explorers of the Human Body (인체탐험대)

Truth be told, I was a bit indifferent at the time, also because I just discovered a little group called Big Bang and I had Haru Haru and Majimak Insa on repeat. Also, when I asked how many members the group had, I wasn’t prepared for the answer she gave me – 13! I faintly recall telling her that it was ridiculous – I couldn’t even distinguish 5 boys in a band – but 13?? How long would their parts be?

But since my friend can be very persuasive (she works in Sales!), I watched an episode. And one episode turned into 2 and then 3 and then I finished all of them. And since I rather enjoyed the craziness of these 13 boys, I looked for more of their videos and then their songs. (There was a site called super-legacy.com that fed this addiction but I guess it doesn’t exist anymore). I was hooked!!! And then in March 2009 they released Sorry Sorry – I was more than addicted! I couldn’t stop the fandom – I (un)officially considered myself as an ELF.

To me Super Junior was the funniest, most talented (I mean 13 boys, each bringing something to the table) and most real Kpop group at the time. They didn’t seem as untouchable as other groups. Their hardships were very those one that can relate to (Kyu’s and Teukie’s accident) and they were one of the most hard working groups. Who wouldn’t love them? (Yes, this is my bias talking).

But who could write about their love for Super Junior and not talk about ELF (Everlasting Friend)! Oh my Sapphire Blue friends 🙂

I started this blog in 2009 – pretty much when blogging wasn’t a popular as it is now. I posted a lot and did not really care what I posted – so long as I think it was interesting. One time, I saw a post on a forum a frequent about It’s You leak. Because I wanted to be one of the first to tell the world about it, I posted it on my blog. No more than 2 hours after I published the post, I received comments from ELFs telling me to take down the post. (Don’t believe me, this was a post I wrote after deleting the leak).

I was pretty freaked out by the incident. Didn’t really occur to me that someone would be monitoring my blog posts. But then it dawned on me – that only shows how much love and respect ELF has for Super Junior. They were willing to protect their oppas whatever means they can. From that day, ELF has earned my respect and I can say I’m proud to be one!

If you haven’t read on my post already, it has been 4 years since I swore off anything Kpop / Kdrama. The last Super Junior song I remember was Sexy, Free and Single. I was adulting. I missed out on a lot of their songs – or during the time when my boys went to the army and came back out. But this year, I sure am very excited for their comeback in November. My love for these boys are eternal. I’m ready to be an Elf again!

And like Lola Carat – I shouldn’t be afraid to admit it because Fandom has now age limit! I’m Tiny and I’m in 32 – and will always will be proud to be called an ELF!

We’d love to hear your FANDOM love story. 🙂 Share it with us in the comments below.

**Credits: as tagged + happycheek@redbubble.com + TaMiTokki@yt
(Note: was not paid to advertise, but the design above hits the spot for every ELF!)

-chipskjaa (“,)-