Making of a Fangirl: Katherine Bowe
I have a tattoo on my ribs of the phrase, In Medias Res, which means ‘in the middle of things.’ which I find applies perfectly to life. Always meeting new friends, colleagues, our own siblings and family - they are in the middle of their own stories. It is how you are finding me now. In the middle of my journey as a writer. Finding & exploring new things that inspire me to write about. Eventually, I may gain enough confidence in my abilities to share more of that with you all, but it may help us gain more of a connection if I allow you into a glimpse of the background of the creator of Fangirlformula.
I could start a series about speaking of my journey with my many fandoms and how crucial they are to the making of the person who is writing this for you now. To me, there is nothing that should be celebrated more than someone’s individual interests & the things they love doing. The age of the internet has brought so much copy and paste to peoples personalities and lives. There is nothing wrong with adopting things here & there, but I would love for people to remember who they were before Tiktok told them what should be cool & trendy. So, I think that was also a great motivator to me to start doing these interviews. For others to read, or remember moments, in time when liking things because you, as a small human were drawn to it, and it was magical. To hopefully spark the want to reconnect with a part of yourself where you watch, listen, read, etc. something that speaks to that part of you.
For me, my earliest fandom I remember was definitely Dora the Explorer. I remember very vividly having a giant pillow Dora in my room & everything I owned was in theme of the queen herself. She was everything to me- a bilingual independent traveling icon.
As someone who spent most of her formative younger years growing up in the suburbs of Orlando, where I could see the Magic Kingdom fireworks from my backyard, princesses were another pivotal fandom for me. I grew up with, if I am remembering correctly, with weekly visits to the Disney property. Being able to witness the literal magic and whimsy of the parks at a young age instills something in a person. I became infatuated with Belle. She lived in France, was quiet & loved to read. Her hero gifted her an entire library. There was nothing my young self wanted more. There is nothing less my current self will settle for. I watched Ratatouille & wanted to become a chef. Birthday parties for friends normally involved Disney somehow. There are pictures of me, Ashley, & Justina at a character breakfast for my birthday one year. I spent years swapping out my Halloween costume between Belle & Snow White. Forever grateful for this childhood because it really did ingrain a certain love of this magical quality there can be to life. Now, I enjoy Disney at a level that stems from having the childhood I did. With a fondness & nostalgia from knowing it was so deeply rooted in my daily life, that it will make the young inner me happy to indulge in watching a Disney movie or to go to the parks.
Again, it wouldn’t be a true blog about myself if I didn’t speak of my deep unwavering love for reading. This has always been one constant in my life & the thing that brings me the greatest joy. Reading has allowed me explore & live so many different lives. There is something so magical about reading & the world of books in general. I am the biggest advocate for people to read more. It’s part of why I chose to blog. I don’t care if you buy the book, e-read, audio book, I’ll never discriminate genre either. The first book series for me that I think led to my life long love is the Percy Jackson series. It has & forever will, hold a very special place in my heart. At my core, I am a sci fi & fantasy fan when it comes to favorite genres, but I have tried to branch out over the years.
Slowly, it evolved. I enjoy my sports fandoms now - obviously. You can read many a blog on the teams I love. I will spare you now. But given my favorite sport of Formula One is back in season, I would be remiss to not include the obvious. Sports is one of the greatest connectors of people & community. It is one of my greatest passions in life & I could write an entire book on this alone.
As someone who prefers TV shows to movies, there are so many that I consider myself a champion of. Convincing people to tune into network tv shows is a crusade that I am willing to lead. I speak about the ones that I have been enjoying each month in the I’m in love! blogs, but the ones that I can rewatch a million times are the ones that hold my purest form of fandom. These range from Glee & New Girl to Sherlock & Pretty Little Liars. Honorable mention to Hawaii Five O, that was an entire phase in high school. Girlhood is a spectrum & so is my genres of interests for television.
Even though I am someone who lives comfortably in the world of television, I still wish I was a part of movie fandoms. The problem with this is that I find movies mainly targeted at children some of the best cinema ever created. Specifically, the How to Train Your Dragon & Kung Fu Panda series. I wish my movie tastes were more grown up. That I could tell you more about the Oscar nominated films & care about updating my letterbox profile. Maybe it is the curse I was born with, the ability to only enjoy animated movies, but slowly, I am working towards cinephile status, but I think I need a spiritual guide of some sort to help me through it.
As someone who enjoys and considers herself a fan of a wide range of things, even if I am not a fan I can normally understand why people enjoy it. Even though that is the case, there is one that I can’t really seem to grasp. It’s bird people. Fun fact: I am deeply unsettled by the presence or sight of birds. I will go out of my way to avoid them. If it comes to crossing the street, so be it. A few months ago, I was pooped on by a bird for the first time & I thought I would cry right there on the street. I can not come to terms with anyone keeping them as pets, feeding them in public, or spending time to travel places to hopefully see new species. Again, it definitely stems from my fear of them that I can not get my head around this.
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I hope that you enjoyed a glimpse into the making of my fandoms. It could be more of a series to speak on the things from my past that have led me to the present. This was a highlights tour really.
Have a splendid weekend.
Talk soon.
