Reality is always a hard pill to swallow, and it is extra difficult when it hits you like a sudden gush of strong wind. You tend to lose balance, lose track of time, and eventually become disconnected from a part of yourself. What can be classified as reality? To put it in simple words, our daily lives – studies, work, family commitments, and so on. For many of us, BTS is like the cool breeze on a hot summer evening, providing relief from the scorching heat. But what happens when we are too engrossed in life to even notice that breeze or appreciate it? That is something we are going to explore in this little piece of mine.
BTS is the largest boyband in the world, so it’s only fair that they have a huge array of content to cater to their mammoth fandom. There is no dearth of content even when they are on a break or not actively releasing an album. Their content is so vast that even someone who follows BTS every day would find it difficult to keep up. And all of this is excluding their discography! When I became an ARMY in 2020, it took me about two months to listen to most of their songs, and even then, I would discover hidden covers and officially unreleased songs now and then. In addition to this, the boys have recently opened personal accounts on Instagram and are quite active on the platform. They also conduct live sessions on VLive, another online platform.
FOMO, or fear of missing out, is a Gen Z term that every ARMY can relate to. We are constantly looking out for notifications related to BTS. Especially when you do not belong to the same time zone as BTS, it becomes all the more difficult to keep up with them. At times, I have been scared to sleep in the fear of missing award shows or other live content. The definition of ARMY varies for each individual, and my intent here is not to call only those people who fully follow BTS, day in and day out, ‘ARMY.’ It is just my general observation that many ARMYs like to follow each and every step of BTS’ journey. This does require time and dedication on our part as well. At times, we all come across situations in our lives where we are not able to dedicate that time toward BTS. It probably starts with missing one “Run BTS!” episode and you think you can catch up with it in a few days. But the content keeps piling up and before you know it, life has taken over.
When I first missed a few “Run BTS!” episodes due to work, I never realized that seven months later I would not have watched them still. The past few months have been hectic, to say the least, on my professional front. And gradually I began to lose connection with the content that was being released. At one point I realized I did not know what was happening in the fandom anymore. But even when I was sweltering in the scorching summer heat, the cool breeze was there to soothe me. On days when I was stuck in heavy traffic on my way to work, “Telepathy” was on the radio. When I fell sick from overworking, “Magic Shop'' was playing in my ear.
Many of us discovered BTS during the ongoing pandemic, a time when the world was going through a slump and we were restricted within our houses for almost a year. With the gradual removal of the pandemic restrictions, as life started returning to its normal cruel self, for some ARMYs such as myself, life took over BTS. A major problem was time management. The pandemic has been hard on the world – people have lost loved ones, jobs, and homes, and have witnessed the worst of times. Now that we have to at least make an effort to get back to the spaces we left, we are at a loss. BTS themselves have spoken about the restlessness and hopelessness that we all have gone through. But the phrase “love yourself” has resounded time and again through it all. I believe once BTS is a part of your journey, they cannot be removed. You might skip a season of “Bon Voyage” or a subunit VLive, but your love for them will not fade away.
A friend recently said that she was into BTS a few years ago until she became busy with her professional life. We had a long chat about “Blood Sweat & Tears.” When it was time to leave, she said, “Let’s go to a BTS concert together.” And that’s what sets BTS apart from the rest. They become a part of your life. You start treating them as your confidants rather than just musicians. They have made all of us believe that life is not a competition. It is okay to get caught up in life, it is okay to miss a song premiere, BTS will wait for you whenever you want to meet them. The fandom is so vast that all of us can have our own little corners in it.
Take time out for yourself whenever you need it. BTS is always there for us. Let that cool summer breeze ease you on a hot day and most importantly, “Love Yourself.”
DISCLAIMER: We do not own any audio & visual content in this video except for the editing. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THE RIGHTFUL OWNERS. No copyright infringement intended.
Written By: Basabdatta
Edited By: Aury
Checked By: Shelley
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