I discovered Seventeen back in late December/January of 2020. I clearly remember this because I recall deciding whether or not I should snag some last minute tickets to their ‘Ode to You’ tour at the UC that week. Back then I was just becoming a fan and decided to hold off till the next show not knowing that the world was about to shut down due to Covid. I’m still sad about this because the ‘Ode to You’ album has become one of my favorite releases from them. I definitely consider myself a Carat (fandom name) now and will probably try to get you to slip into the diamond life at some point. What I love the most about Seventeen is how their music has brought me and two of my cousins closer together. The cousin group chat is constantly full of love and adoration for the members, music, video of performances, and variety content.

One of my friends said to me at lunch the other day, “I love that you get to be a fangirl again.” Sometimes I feel too old, but that’s what’s wonderful about music. It has the power to transcend age, gender, race, culture, and lots of different identities. In August, I had the chance to see them live twice – once in Chicago and Washington, DC. The shows were AMAZING, EPIC, AWESOME, & FUN! Despite two of the members (Hoshi & Joshua) being out due to covid for the DC show, I am so glad I got to see them live twice. It made up for missing out on them back in 2020. Some of my favorite moments below.

True fangirl moment – my cousin and I coincidently arrived at DCA about the same time as the group and ran into 1/2 the members as they strolled down to baggage claim and exited the airport. I honestly still haven’t fully processed how cool it was to be like a meter away from them quietly cheering them on. No love to the fans that were invading their privacy. K-pop airport culture is wild and one that I will never understand.