Sunday, May 8, 2011

Confessions of a Gleek, or the Anatomy of an Obsession

To those who know me best, it's no secret that I have a tendency to obsess about the things I love. That's probably the understatement of the century. God love my parents and my husband for putting up with me and all of my obsessions. Especially my parents. They've lived with 28 years of me and my "loves," including but not limited to: horses, Johnny Depp, Alfred Hitchcock movies, Jimmy Stewart, Dave Matthews Band, musicals, writing, reading, William Faulkner, Jane Austen, Wuthering Heights, James Dean, Ireland, anything and everything Irish, cooking, gardening, cats, animals, owls, black birds, birds in general, The Beatles, Counting Crows, history, ghosts, zoos, scary movies, love stories, food, anything Southern...I should probably stop. Before I seem crazy crazier. I tend to be passionate over everything my heart loves, and I mean passionate. That's who I am, and what follows is a look inside my overly-passionate, obsessive heart.

I purposely left off one of my major obsessions from the list above because it may actually be the mother of all obsessions and is the subject of my post. This obsession came to life the moment I heard a rumor that the show might have been a twinkle in its creator's eye. Then I saw the preview for it and fell head over heels.


When the Glee pilot originally aired in May 2009, I thought I might die between its airing and the airing of episode 1 in September 2009. Thankfully, I didn't, but I'm pretty sure Jeremy was sick of hearing about Glee THEN.  Poor guy. Yep, I'm a total Gleek. Nope, I'm not a 12-year old tween with braces and glasses, singing Celine Dion's "All By Myself" at the top of my lungs in my purple, horse-decorated bedroom...but I once was. And my 12-year old self loves Glee. Loves it. Heck, I won't lie so does my 28-year old self.

But with all of my obsessions, there's usually some kind of reason or logic behind my reason for obsessing, and Glee is no different. Which brings me to: The Anatomy of an Obsession.

The Underdog, Anti-Hero, Dreamer Lady

Let's start with the Glee's heroine: Rachel Berry, a character most people love to hate, but one that I absolutely adore. She's not neat. She's not easy-to-love. She's sometimes obnoxious, has questionable judgment, and is pushy and opinionated. But she's just the kind of character I love the most: the anti-hero(ine). Look, people aren't simple. None of us fit into easy categories, and if we do, then we probably need to re-evaluate our depth and sense of self but that's another post for another day. Rachel reflects (an exaggerated version) of real life. She dreams and chases those dreams shamelessly, and the dreamer in me respects that tenacity. Plus, she's an underdog, and I am a complete sucker for an underdog, also another post for another day.


Unrequited Love

Ah, unrequited love. Could there be a single person on the planet who doesn't relate in some way to unrequited love? Then again, I'm sure there are some people who have never longed for someone they can't have, but Glee's probably not the type of show those people could relate to anyway. I'm getting off-track. The unrequited (mostly) love between the Glee's main characters, our favorite underdog Rachel and popular yet awkward football player guy Finn Hudson, is definitely a key component to my obsession. Love stories that begin with unrequited love and end with happily ever after thrill me! And while happily ever after is yet to be determined on Glee, the "getting there" with Finn and Rachel's story has me hanging on and enjoying every minute of the ride.


Random Outbursts of Song


Music makes the people come together. Madonna knows what she's singing about, for real. And music, although I don't have any talent for it myself, moves me. I sing songs at the top of my lungs. I analyze lyrics and composition and the way songs make me feel. And because of a deep love and appreciation for music, I've always adored musicals. The random outbursts of song fill my heart with joy. When I was a teenager, I used to wish life could be a musical. If I could only sing about my love and heartbreak, it would make it so much easier to handle! Or so I thought. But, really, what is Glee but a musical? A never-ending musical and that's even better!


The Message

To wrap up this unnecessarily long post (see? I told you I'm obsessive), I'd like to touch on the final and perhaps most important reason behind my obsession with Glee: the message. Glee tells the story of misfits and underdogs, and it teaches viewers about acceptance. The gist of the show? We're all different, but we're all worth loving, whether we're weird, gay, black, white, purple, gothic, self-conscious, curvy, OCD....or a tiny bit obsessive by nature. And to me, that's a message worth obsessing over.


Do you have an obsessive personality? If so, what's your obsession? 

Oh, and PS - Are you a Gleek? Glee lovers unite! :)

Don't forget to play Captchouli....Click Here

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
 

23 comments:

  1. I DO have an obsessive personality (surprise, surprise) which is why I don't sleep much. Too many things that require my daily, undivided attention!

    I once got so obsessed with sewing this dress I was making that I actually didn't go into work so I could sew all. day. long. I know.

    Okay, last thing, I swear: We used to imagine what it would be like if our cafeteria in college was the set of a musical, all of us twirling with our trays in our hands. Special :)

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  2. Happy Mother's Day, Katie!! Celebrate it, passionately, with...Glee!!

    lol, couldn't resist!

    Me? Obsessive? Well, promise you won't tell a soul, but...Snowmen! Yup, I collect them and let me tellya, it's gettin' ugly crowded up in our attic with all of them. What's the message behind them? Well, they're basically singular, solitary creatures, all wearing a smile. Kinda like me..most of the time.

    Glee? Have never watched it but might have to check it out just cuz you are soooo fond of it!

    Hugs,
    Patty

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  3. Good Morning! You’ve been chosen to received The Lovely Blog Award. Find out more at www.divineinmind.blogspot.com

    Tried to put this to song but it didn't work out too well.

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  4. Visiting from Comment Love, great post! I really enjoyed it! I have a bit of an obsessive personality as well (as my family can tell you after dealing with my obsessions as a child/preteen with Baby-Sitters Club and So Weird haha). I am sure I would be a Gleek as well if I'd watched it from the beginning...I love random outbursts of song, but the few times I watched it I had no idea what was going on! Ha!

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  5. Ok, so I'm not a big Glee fan (the show started while I was living abroad so I'm a little out of the loop), I can speak to feeling passionate about things. It's what most people are missing from their life. Feeling enthusiastic about something isn't always the most popular things to do, and I can't for the life of me understand why. I loved your list of obsessions!

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  6. Stopping over from Comment Love Day :) I'd say I'm obsessed with having things neat and orderly...why, who knows because having four kids it's hard to do, lol. I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day!

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  7. Unrequited love - If you love these type stories, you should check out my romance novel - Another Man's Treasure!

    Visiting from FTLOB Comment love!
    http://ibetterfindyourlove.blogspot.com/

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  8. thanks so much for stopping by and the follow! otherwise I might not have had the chance to find you :) OMG you had me smiling when I read this post... i was beginning to think I was in a league of my own! I am such a gleek! God love my husband for loving me throughout all my obsessions! I have my gleek moments of being Rachel, Brittany and Emma sometimes all at once! Highschool needless to say one would be summed up in one song "Dancing with myself".. one of my fave songs sung on the show :)

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  9. Haha, well at least you are honest :) I have to admit, I like a Glee episode from time to time. The first season was by far the best though. And what is wrong with belting out "all by yourself"?? lol, you know that is going to be stuck in my head all day now, don't you. Have a great Sunday Katie!

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  10. I purposely did not watch Glee for the first year even though I kept hearing about how great it was. What a fool I was! Once I watched my first episode which was I think the Britney episode and it may have been a rerun, I was hooked.

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  11. How awesome was the last episode? I teach high school journalism, so I was literally stuck to the TV. Found you on FTLOB!

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  12. Ah Glee is my ultimate favorite. I always love previewing the songs beforenthey air. This show has changed tv as we know it and I love that about it. Cannot wait for the movie in 3d!!

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  13. Oh, thank God! I'm not the only one who obsesses over things. I swear there are days that Mr. Bernie would love to choke me to the ground when I keep obsessing. I will mention something several times during the course of the day. He is a Saint.

    I have been debating about buying the first season of Glee just to see if I like it.

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  14. Ooooooh...now I get it. You like me because I'm Irish and I see dead people. :)

    I'm so totally obsessive that it's borderline A&E programming material. Cleaning is my poison. Though, I'll admit I've lightened up over the past year.

    Glee. Hmmmm...I'm either putting children to bed when it starts or half in the bag from my Irish whiskey. Kidding about the whiskey part. I'm just generally drunk with fatigue, so I haven't been able to commit. I'm with Bernie. Maybe I'll Netflix season 1 to watch it when I'm not drunk, er...tired.

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  15. @Divine: Thanks so much for the award!

    @Bernie: Do it! DO IT!

    @No. 7: You know it, buddy!

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  16. YES! Big Gleek here! I am so lucky the Boy secretly loves it too! Although I am the only one in this relationship who spontaneously bursts out in showtunes, he does enjoy every episode of Glee!

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  17. I've never watched the show - I typically watch only hockey, maybe some educational type shows (like the history of the search for Osama bin Laden that was on all day Sunday...) and cartoons. I don't watch all the popular TV shows because they generally piss me off and/or can't hold my interest. I'm very easily distracted...

    I get the whole "underdog" thing you are talking about but what would piss me off is watching a supposed "underdog" that looks like the girl you have pictured above... I have a hard time buying her underdog-ish status. Just sayin'...

    I guess I'm just not a big fan of Hollywood and all of it's unrealistic expectations.

    That having been said... I DO have an obsessive personality (see: my 3 blogs.) And when I get into something I typically will dive right in and throw myself into the mix full force - or make myself the most visible fan out there (see: Hockey & the Save The Coyotes Campaign...)

    I was obsessed with the sinking of the Titanic for the vast majority of my childhood years. Up until they made the movie and I could see it all happen in "real time". I cried - nay... I sobbed at the end - and my obsession pretty much ended there. I still find it amusing and interesting, but when Hollywood took over my interest wained a bit.

    I also loved horses - from age 8 until 18. I even tried to make a career out of it, getting a job at a prestigious Arabian horse farm in South Florida as an intern.

    I can't just DO something... I have to do it the BEST! But it's funny... I'm not at all competitive by nature... Crazy? Absolutely! But not competitive at all...

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  18. Stopped by again to leave one more award for you! If you like, it's waiting for you on my blog!


    Hugs,
    Patty

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  19. You are amazing and your writing is brilliant!

    My hubs LOVES Glee...I enjoy it. :) I LOVE Lost but I can hardly remember what happens from one show to the next. :)

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  20. I love your blog and love your very complimentary comments about Breann's blog. Thank you! Regarding Glee, I couldn't agree more with your commentary on acceptance. In a world of discrimination and school bullying issues, it is great that a show like Glee spreads the message of acceptance to kids. Plus, having a High School and Middle School choir background, I can relate!

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  21. I love Glee. I refuse to watch it with my husband anywhere near me, because he actually tries to talk to me during the show (!!!) and sometimes even makes fun of it (neckpunch!!!).

    But even when it does jump the shark or I get bored, I won't stop watching it because of what it wants to do: make kids accept being different. remind the underdogs, the outcasts, the freaks, the ones who get Slurpied, that they are okay. And I LOVE that.

    I'm obsessed with lipgloss. I've done multiple interventions with myself, and still have um, quite a few....

    Came from TRDC!

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  22. Yes, I obsess! And I freakin' love GLEE! Gleek for life! Once I find something I like I get really into it. It's more fun that way. And btw, I just saw the Glee Live and In Concert! It was amazing! Just as awesome, if not better, than the show. I was jumping up and down and singing like a little teenage girl. LOVE IT!

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