The Beginning of My ARMY Life

My daughter is a loyal ARMY since 2016. We talk about BTS often but I was just a witness to her kilig and fangirling moments. Pinagdaanan ko din yan- Michael Jackson, Prince, Kevin Bacon, Menudo, New Kids On the Block. I know how it is to be a fan. But one day, I asked her what sets BTS apart from the rest of the idols. She simply said, ”Mama, watch the music video (MV) of Spring Day.”

Oh. My. Juice.

Nalaglag ang mga prutas ko...

Spring Day referenced one of my favorite stories by one of my favorite authors. Omelas in the music video of Spring Day is like a club house/cafe/hangout place for the boys. But they are seen riding a train. They have left Omelas to journey somewhere. Across a landscape of snow the train went on until it reached a stop where a tree grows. Ang powerful ng mga imahe.

The short story, The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas by Ursula Le Guin is a multilayered story of pain, sacrifice, lost childhood and the difficult decisions one must take against a society that expects conformity and compliance. BTS and the entire production team of the MV captured these all so eloquently in a narrative set in music and visual arts. Ang ganda.

But. 

But. 

But... It is Dynamite that made me crawl into the rabbit hole. I felt the boys were singing and dancing to my generation - the Generation X. They connect to their audience. They share their joy to their fans. They work hard and the know the cost of fame. 

I use the word crawl because I was choosing my consumption of their content and the news articles that come out about them. I know that Kim Namjoon has a massive reading list and that his fingerprints and philosophy are all over the discography of BTS. But, I have not taken a deep interest in all of their content - which is overwhelmingly abundant! In their current solo, Butter, they assert their new found artistic identity. They look more at home in their own skin, more mature and the confidence is on another level. They have transformed from boys into young men.

I found myself racing deeper into the BTS rabbit hole. It has been a fun and wonderful race so far, with so many discoveries about myself along the way. And, to make it more meaningful, I have my daughter to share this rediscovery of my inner child and the simple joys in the midst of the shadows and rain that come with life so often.