According to our lecture in Beyond the Looking-Glass Self, "Social structures refer to human organizations" such as school, family, religion, government and more. With this, I understood that a social structure is like a group of people that you constantly encounter or interact with and in each social structure, you have an identity and a purpose/function. An example that comes to my mind is how in university clubs or organizations that I'm part of, I function such as Creatives deputy, Set deputy, Productions head, Documentations and Publication head, etc.
I think what I've mentioned above are quite common already so I would like to discuss a unique social structure this time: fandoms
Majority of the people would say that fandom is an innocent word used for describing a cult of sleep-deprived people who obsess over one or multiple artists, band, comics, books, tv shows, movies, video games, etc. but really it's just a community of people who are fans of something that they love. I have been in different fandoms myself ever since 2012 up until now and this side of my life has been a huge part of my identity. I honestly can no longer imagine myself not being a fangirl; even other people would think so. Whenever I would leave a certain fandom, my friends would just say that I will eventually find another one soon, implying that it's really a part of who I am now.
I started by being a huge fan of a pianist, musician and singer named Greyson Chance back in 2012 when I saw his music video for his song "Unfriend You"on MYX. I started a fan account on Twitter solely dedicated to him, which reached 2,000 followers, including his Australian friends in the industry, Cody Simpson and his sister, Alli Simpson. Back then, Twitter wasn't big yet but I preferred it over Facebook because on Twitter, you could actually see which accounts are the real celebrities, hence giving you a chance to interact with your idols. In Twitter, you could also interact more easily with people all over the world. I met a lot of Enchancers (Greyson Chance's fan base name) from different countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, America, and Australia. During this time, Wattpad also became a huge thing among fandoms. Wattpad was known for being a platform for fan fiction writers and readers. When I heard about it, I couldn't stop reading all the Greyson Chance fan fictions I could find until one day when I listened to Greyson's song called Light Up the Dark, I decided to write one myself. Surprisingly, some people liked my work. The fan fiction I wrote had garnered over 124,000 reads and this has motivated me to write more, which helped improve not only my writing skills but also my English. My English skills were mostly because of my interactions with fans from all over the world for years that I have been in fandoms. Being in Greyson's fandom or being an Enchancer has enabled me to discover the field of writing and interacting with foreigners, both of which helped improve my English and confidence.
When 2014 came, I stumbled upon this band named 5 Seconds of Summer (5sos) on Twitter. Greyson Chance became inactive in the music industry so people started talking less and less of him and started hyping up this band instead. I didn't want to join along because my heart was still with Greyson (even up to now honestly) but eventually, I still did. I revamped my Twitter account and dedicated it to 5sos this time. They were this bunch of handsome idiots who are seriously talented and funny. They were my source of happiness as they never failed to make me laugh through the videos they upload on Keek. The biggest influence this fandom, 5sos fam, had on me was the band culture in general. The fandom was filled with talented fans who could sing and play sorts of instruments. They were also really stylish when it comes to pop rock or punk fashion, which I also got influenced in. Because of 5sos, I took guitar lessons in a music school. After two weeks worth of sessions, I finally learned how to play a guitar and I learned how to play some songs of 5sos.
In 2016, 5sos became really popular everywhere. They started working and touring with One Direction, started being featured on big shows such as Late Late Show, iHeart Radio, BBC Radio, etc. I was happy for them, really, but a part of me also wasn't. I guess I didn't like how they started collaborating with pop music producers and got signed under a record label. Finally having your own record label is nice as a band of course but I didn't like how the whole thing has affected the type of music they released after. I didn't like how they swerved away from the alternative rock or pop rock they were going for at first to pop music. I guess you could say I got turned off by that but up to this day, I still give their discography a listen from time to time. I was then introduced to an American TV series called Teen Wolf. I remember turning the TV on and seeing it for the first time during the marathon they were holding in a channel that I forgot the name of. After watching a few episodes, I took it upon myself to look for the entire series online and download each season. It was really good, not usually my type of genre, but I really loved it. The cast was my favorite part of the entire series, it was perfect, it had Tyler Posey as the main lead, along with Dylan O'Brien, Crystal Reed, Holland Roden, Daniel Sharman, Ian Bohen, Tyler Hoechlin, JR Bourne, Melissa Ponzio, Arden Cho, Dylan Sprayberry, Shelley Hennig, the Carver twins, and many more! I loved each and every single one of them so much, especially the characters that they had played as. This series focuses on different creatures that could be found in a bestiary such as werewolves, kanimas, banshees, kitsunes, werecoyotes, and more. It wasn't something I expected to develop such a huge interest on but I really can't stress enough how much I love this series. Aside from the fact that the series had hot guys with abs who would turn into werewolves or something else, another reason to watch the series is that it showcases friendship, family and relationships really well. It also tackles a bit of mythology, which really helped me get through my tenth grade Literature class when I was asked who Balder was, which I obviously only learned about in Teen Wolf due to the myth of Mistletoe, that's also one of the weaknesses of a supernatural creature aside from mountain ash.
The biggest influence that I got from watching Teen Wolf was the drive to create art. During this time, I didn't know how to draw yet or let alone paint. I started getting really attached to Teen Wolf and its elements that I decided to paint, well, a wolf.
I used oil paint because I bought the wrong box and I didn't know what was the difference between acrylic and oil yet back then. It wasn't much but when I brought this painting to school, my classmates complimented it and praised it well, asking me if I had used magic to create it because they couldn't believe I had painted it myself, even though it was in abstract style. Ever since then, I got confident in my art so I started creating more and more. I explored different media like sketching using graphite, drawing with ink, painting with oils and acrylic, etc. In the end, I stuck with oils and has now been my best bet when it comes to medium of art. I wanted to share my art so I created a separate Twitter account for Teen Wolf, I didn't revamp the Greyson-Chance-turned-5sos account.
In 2017, I never thought this would happen but I became a fan of K-Pop. Back in 2012, I couldn't understand why people love K-Pop when they sing in a whole different language, but now I do. When it comes to appreciating music, we don't really focus on the language used, but with the rhythm and emotions a song can make you feel. Classical music doesn't have words in it and yet we appreciate it. I don't quite remember how it all started, I guess I was just introduced to the Korean pop boy group named EXO by a friend. This fandom, EXO-L, is my current fandom right now and yes, I guess I am quite obsessed. When it comes to identity, I think this fandom is the one that had the most influence or impact on mine. With the huge Korean wave that took over our local media recently, I have personally been influenced greatly. As time went on being a fan of EXO, I unconsciously started changing how I present myself to the public in ways such as how I do my hair, how I do my makeup, how I do my skincare routine and how I dress. I have started wearing Korean fashion because it’s what I see on the girls around EXO and in Korean media. I have started using lip tints and cushion powder because they’re what Koreans use. I have started using whitening products because the foreigners that we see on these Korean advertisements have fair skin. I have started getting a fringe cut because Koreans style their hair like that. But to be honest, I didn't do it unwillingly. I didn't do it because the society has forced me to. I just genuinely think I look prettier when I style myself like this, in a Korean way or something similar.
Aside from the influence on fashion, hairstyle, makeup and skincare, I also got determined in learning a new language so I took Korean lessons so I could interact with EXO more in the future if ever I get a chance to meet them. EXO is also the reason how I met the girls I went to Korea with last summer without any adult with us. It was my very first time to travel without my parents or any relative. In this fandom, there's a constant fan art contest that goes on where winners get to have signatures from EXO themselves so this has also influenced me and motivated me to create more art and improve. Majority of my art has been portraits of Korean idols, honestly.
More works of mine: bit.ly/artbytrish
To sum it all up, being in these various fandoms has helped me define who I am in this society and how I function or what I can do in this society. Being an Enchancer has helped me discover my inner writer self, being part of the 5sos fam has helped me discover my inner musician self, being a fan of Teen Wolf has helped me start learning a new avenue for me to express my feelings which is art, and lastly, being an EXO-L has helped me discover what kind of fashion and style I feel the most beautiful in, and helped me improve on my art much better.
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