Kpop, Romance, Writing, and… Jesus?

Out of all the people in my life, I think I’m the one to consider myself the strangest. As seen in the title above, I have the most interesting mix of hobbies and passions.

If you didn’t know, well now you do. I am a huge Kpop fan (the amount of concerts I went to this summer was nothing short of insane). I am such a heartthrob for romance. I’m talking about the sweet pure fairytale kind of love that makes any girl swoon over. I was watching a Korean drama earlier this week and the male lead gave the female lead a forehead kiss. The squeals that came out of my mouth were embarrassing to say the least XD. If you’re reading this, you most definitely know that I absolutely love writing, but not just any kind of writing - writing about love. And last, but certainly not at all least, is Jesus. He’s my literal inspiration for everything. All my novel writing, my will to live, absolutely everything is because of Him.

So, how does any of these correlate to each other. Especially since it’s such a “strange” mix of hobbies and loves. What ties everything together? Are all of these hobbies perfectly okay? There are so many stereotypes to each of these things and they seem to contradict each other.

There’s the stereotype of kpop lovers to be out of their mind delusional, who wear strange clothing, constantly dye their hair, and, are obsessed with Korean men. I definitely don’t think I quite fit in any of those categories. Don’t get me wrong, I am a strong and true fan supporting many of my favorite boybands. I get way too excited over seeing them at a concert and was hysterically laughing when my ultimate favorite member waved at me. But, no, I don’t think I’m marrying them or am in a relationship with them. I love the way I dress and I definitely don’t think it’s the “emo” look. I’ve never actually dyed my hair and don’t think there’s a problem with people who do. Obsessed with Korean men? Hmmm… if I’m fangirl-ing over my favorite artist, yes, I might seem a little crazy. But I definitely don’t see myself moving to South Korea because of an obsession with them, wanting to date a South Korean man because of his ethnicity, or anything like that. So, no, I don’t fit the stereotype.

Then there’s the stereotype for romance lovers. Unfortunately in today’s day and age people automatically assume that if you’re into romance then you’re into smut (sexually explicit reading material). Which is most definitely a very hard no for me. I believe that it’s actually harmful for anyone especially women to be consuming that kind of material. It ruins the beauty of pure love and is actually not love at all, but lust.

As for my love of writing, now there, I actually do kind of fit the stereotype. I prefer to go anywhere and everywhere with a pen and paper. I love my laptop which helps me write all of what I write. The only place where I contradict the romance writer stereotype is that I don’t write smut. At all. I may write a fade to black scene where it is implied that the characters are intimate only if it is within the sacrament of marriage, but I will never explicitly write anything.

Then there’s my love of Jesus. As a Catholic young woman there’s a very set stereotype for a Catholic girl. Especially within the Church. I don’t think I really fit that stereotype. Maybe a little, but not in the way that most people would think. Many older generation Catholics look down on the hobbies I have because I’m Catholic. But you see, I don’t actually believe that God gave me these Talents and passions so that I have to hide them from people.

All of these are tied up as a gift from God. You might be like “woah, that’s kind of a stretch. What does Kpop have anything to do with Jesus?” Believe me many many years ago, I would’ve said the same thing. It’s actually a long story, but this is the short version. I have always loved music. I began feeling like a lot of pop music was being filled with explicit grotesque language. When I found Kpop, it was quite different and so many songs I found hit me with truth. Yes, there are also songs which I choose not to listen to or choreographies that I don’t watch because I don’t think they’re okay. But, many of the songs I do listen to I genuinely believe are good. It is in some of those songs that I also found great comfort especially on the difficult days while I was in college.

All of my other hobbies, I believe are entwined with Talents which I believe God wants me to use to glorify Him. My writing, my love of romance, and my love of reading - all of it - I believe He wants me to create stories that show truth, comfort others, and help them believe that true love does exist.

I’d be willing to have a conversation with anyone who has questions about this or simply hear about your hobbies that are “strange” but have actually helped strengthen your relationship with God.

I also encourage y’all to pray for the artists or people you admire so much. They are human too and sometimes may need many more prayers than we know.

Praying for you always!