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The me of ten years ago could have never imagined how overwrought I'd be over sports. I never understood sports fandom. I didn't like sports fandom.* Somehow, since then, I've gone over to the opposite end of following a ridiculous number of sports and being ridiculously overinvested in them. I am a person prone to a lot of feelings, whether it's over anime series or fictional characters' true loves or, well, the narratives and failures and successes of my sports teams. (Also, y'know, over the usual stuff seen as less frivolous: human stories, news stories, families and friends. But those aren't things people raise an eyebrow over for being emotionally invested in.)
*These days, I still have problems with sports fandom, but of an entirely different kind, now being a part of it and a more thorough understanding of the bits I don't like.
Over the years, I've done a lot of growing into adulthood. Congratulations, right? It's a human condition. Overinvestment in sports is an area where I'm still a work in progress, less for the sake of avoiding judgment from others over something so "frivolous" but for my own well being. Because, man, it is not that fun to feel soul crushing disappointment and be genuinely, deeply distressed over sports teams. Stop taking it so personally, Mei! The Canes and Blues and Liverpool and UNC aren't out to upset you intentionally! Even if it feels like they want to crush your hopes and dreams just because they can. Still.
Anyhow, it's an ongoing process. And while I feel things deeply, like the Blues' first round playoff exit yet again (and the knowledge of the inevitable trades and firings that will split up a team I care about), I don't let them linger. Time heals things pretty quickly for me, probably due in part to my waning attention span these days. Or really, there's just such a wealth of other things, serious and non, to pay attention to: an endless parade of distractions, both good and bad.
Some such these days are highlighted in the news reel, which I work with every day. It can be so disheartening, so saddening, so frustrating. Yet I can't imagine not knowing or caring. There are limits to the range of human empathy, but on the whole I think we are built for compassion, if varying degrees of it which are affected by factors such as proximity to ourselves. Nepal, Baltimore... The Atlantic has had some excellent pieces on the latter. Nepal is devastating, in all senses of the world, but it gives me a little comfort to see the charities I donate to are doing good work there. The Supreme Court hears a case on state same-sex marriage laws today. Big Bang is finally coming back! There is a lot happening in the world, and there is time for the mourning, the celebration (congrats, Caps, Ovie!), the anger, the love.
More than anything this is a reminder to myself that I need to manage my emotions (though not curtail them! I'm okay with being full of feelings) and keep things in perspective. Stress can easily overwhelm me and it sometimes manifests in physical ways that are actively harmful. So here's to that work in progress.
*These days, I still have problems with sports fandom, but of an entirely different kind, now being a part of it and a more thorough understanding of the bits I don't like.
Over the years, I've done a lot of growing into adulthood. Congratulations, right? It's a human condition. Overinvestment in sports is an area where I'm still a work in progress, less for the sake of avoiding judgment from others over something so "frivolous" but for my own well being. Because, man, it is not that fun to feel soul crushing disappointment and be genuinely, deeply distressed over sports teams. Stop taking it so personally, Mei! The Canes and Blues and Liverpool and UNC aren't out to upset you intentionally! Even if it feels like they want to crush your hopes and dreams just because they can. Still.
Anyhow, it's an ongoing process. And while I feel things deeply, like the Blues' first round playoff exit yet again (and the knowledge of the inevitable trades and firings that will split up a team I care about), I don't let them linger. Time heals things pretty quickly for me, probably due in part to my waning attention span these days. Or really, there's just such a wealth of other things, serious and non, to pay attention to: an endless parade of distractions, both good and bad.
Some such these days are highlighted in the news reel, which I work with every day. It can be so disheartening, so saddening, so frustrating. Yet I can't imagine not knowing or caring. There are limits to the range of human empathy, but on the whole I think we are built for compassion, if varying degrees of it which are affected by factors such as proximity to ourselves. Nepal, Baltimore... The Atlantic has had some excellent pieces on the latter. Nepal is devastating, in all senses of the world, but it gives me a little comfort to see the charities I donate to are doing good work there. The Supreme Court hears a case on state same-sex marriage laws today. Big Bang is finally coming back! There is a lot happening in the world, and there is time for the mourning, the celebration (congrats, Caps, Ovie!), the anger, the love.
More than anything this is a reminder to myself that I need to manage my emotions (though not curtail them! I'm okay with being full of feelings) and keep things in perspective. Stress can easily overwhelm me and it sometimes manifests in physical ways that are actively harmful. So here's to that work in progress.
