Moving On

I love anime, manga, and Japanese pop/rock – what typically classifies an otaku. It all started when I was in high school, freshman year when I joined the anime club. The club meetings at 7:20am in the morning (I think… it was very early that’s all I have to say) and around 4pm. In the mornings, I would actually wake up early and go there to watch anime and made friends with the new members there. Afterwards, I would go help out in the attendance office until my 1^st class actually started. In the afternoon, it was more anime and just chatting with the people there. I was so dedicated to going to cons (attended almost 3 or 4 in a year), buying expensive artbooks and CDs, and watch anime all the time. Then it changed.

Moving up the ladder in my life, I dedicated more time to my coursework and losing sleep in the process. I’m not keeping up with the series that I just started or was in the middle and suddenly be disrupted because of last minute cramming. I don’t even watch series that are main stream or the next big hit and move towards the ones that look somewhat strange but unique and short. Now it’s just the weekend (if it is possible) when I really feel like relaxing and getting away from my current world that I would just sit down and catch up to the series I really cared about. The same applies with music where I would actually follow what my favorite singers’ releases were and try to get a hold of as soon I heard what it is. Now, I don’t bother unless I randomly come across them and I have been listening more towards singers that I have never of heard of that do a lot of covers of different songs. I’ve become more conscious of what I am spending and say to myself, “I’ll wait… if I come back and don’t see it, oh well, I won’t feel bad if it is gone.”

A person’s tastes are constantly changing. It may feel like forever that I would be stuck in that cycle but there will be a time where reality hits you and make you say, “wow I really need to get out more…” Right now I still have a bit of the otaku-ism that I had in high school but I think most of it has left my system and now the empty space is making room for new and more interesting things. Looking back now and thinking that I was some super nerd, being way to dedicated and obsessed that it is now a bit embarrassing and scary to admit. I keep it a secret from people who I just met and only mention it if I know they share the same interest that I feel comfortable revealing it.