Bangtan Boys. Shiningstarx's BTS Giveaway (Open Internationally)
Feel free to join too! It's simple and easy!
All you need is a simple blog post about why you love BTS, your favorite member, and why you think you should win!
(5/25. Just kidding. Update. It's changed a bit now. You should read the linked blog post to see what's new!)
 

Step 1. How did I fall in love with them?

How else do people fall in love with a group? When BTS first debuted, they released their first single: No More Dream. I remember hearing that song, thinking: "Wow, these people remind me of B.A.P." Sounds bad, right? Sounds like I feel like Bangtan copied B.A.P, doesn't it?

That was never the case.

I thought that Bangtan radiated the same amount of confidence as B.A.P did. I thought that Bangtan didn't seem like rookies. With each move, lyrics, melody, and gaze, I thought that these boys were far from being "rookies". With that in mind, I thought to myself, "I wonder what they are singing about." Was it something cliche and typical? (Romance, break-ups, the "I don't need you in my life" type of songs?). I did not expect too much.

Boy was I proven wrong.

No, these boys sang about what is on every teenagers' mind. Of course, given that the songs are written by professional songwriters, there are also those cliche songs that I had mentioned earlier. But they had something different. They had that spark. The kind that made me think, hey I can relate to this (two examples below, can't you relate to them?).

No More Dream. 2013.
We all want expensive things. We all want to live a good life. But we don't really dream like we should. We are always worried about getting into college, studying, and more. We are trained to forget how to dream. We know that we don't want to study, but what can we do? We're too scared to do anything else. Have we really worked towards something that we really want? Are we just puppets that cannot break through society's standards? Why don't we do something for ourselves?

N.O. 2013.
Let's say you have a lot of money like your parents wished. Let's say you got into a top university. Will this really make you happy? Are you satisfied with your dreams disappearing, as your prime years pass by? Are you really okay with having no choice but to consent to your parents' wishes? Are you really okay with being trapped by adults, forcing you to walk their path? Do you really want to be trapped in someone else's dream? Just say no. There isn't much time left. It's now or never.

Given, I don't look at translations for every Korean song I listen to. To make me look up their lyrics, that song must have to impress me to some point first. Bangtan's songs did just that. They impressed me. They made me look twice. They made me remember them.

That's how an entertainer can be successful.
They make me want to believe in their brightness.

Step 2. My favorite member.

Every single member of Bangtan is unique in their own way, but if I had to choose one before the others, I would choose Kim Tae Hyung "V" (typical, right? He's one of the more popular members).

While every single member has a charming smile, and every single member has the perfect charisma that would make any girl swoon, V has a different type of side to him that makes my heart flutter as he is pretty similar to me.

Personally, I am very much so a music lover. I like being the one to discover some new music that I can introduce to my friends. I am the type of person that never goes anywhere without my headphones plugged into my phone, music playing 24/7. If I'm not listening to music, then I'm probably surfing the Internet.

Did you know that Taehyung's hobbies involve searching for music that no one listens to and going on the computer?

This similarity makes me feel closer to him. As a fan, idols are stars that are difficult to reach. They live in another world. Did you know that I once believed that all idols lived in another dimension, one that we can never reach? At that point in time, I thought idols weren't real people. Hearing that now, doesn't it make you want to laugh?

Taehyung also likes to take pictures. Perhaps it's because he was an ulzzang previously as he does have quite the good looks. Personally, if photography was a stable job, I would probably be a photographer (or at the very least, a Photoshop photograph editor). However, I don't believe in myself enough to trust that photography would be the best job for a girl like me. I have to think realistically. Idols, to me, live in a never-ending dream.

But even so, isn't it nice to look at someone who is similar to yourself and think, "he's living my dream for me when I don't have the courage to do so?"

Taehyung's soft-hearted as he did feel hurt from that one time Suga jokingly made fun of his smile. Someone so soft, it's a wonder why he's never gotten a confession face-to-face (not that I would know, even if I've never either). A softie like him, it's cute that his favorite animal is a lion, the king of animals.

There are so many more reasons to love Taehyung. The fact that he loves bubbles, to collect large plushies, to bite his nails when he's nervous, and to have terrible sleeping habits. His flaws and imprefections make me smile, and anyone capable of making me smile will make my heart beat.

He's almost like a kid, and I want to take care of him. I want to treat him well, make him smile, and love him. That, of course, is a dream. From where I stand, I just hope he finds someone that will treat him right.

If the one you love is happy, then you're going to be happy too.

Step 3. Why should I win this competition?

Why should I win this? I don't know.

Do I want to win? Of course.

Bangtan is a big part of me, and I hope you can feel that from reading this blog post. I sat here over an hour ago, trying to put my feelings into words. Who knew it was so hard to describe something you love so much? I thought about every reason why I got attracted to Bangtan more than any other group (of course, I'm sure that there are many people who share the same reasons I do).

I've only ever bought one K-pop item, and it wasn't for myself. I had travelled over two hours to find an Asian store, and I bought a pack of B.A.P posters for my younger sister because she was their fan. I wanted to get her a little something because she was about to start her first year of college, a high school graduation gift if I do say so myself. I have to say, it was quite expensive, so I ended up neglecting to buy myself anything.

Not to mention, I'm now hosting a writing contest* in which I will personally spend money for someone else. I think that if I keep giving, then perhaps, I will get something in return (and even if I don't, I think it'd be nice to just do something for others who are a little less fortunate than I am - I'm sure you understand this feeling).

I think it'd be really nice if I got something for myself this time around.

That all boils down to this last point.

To earn the gift, now that's different from buying something for myself. If I win, then I could proudly say that someone sincerely believed that my feelings for Bangtan wasn't easily brushed off.

A Little Extra About Myself.
My first fanfiction on AsianFanfics was a Bangtan story, and it got featured* (hopefully I got to recruit more ARMYs that way because the boys are really talented, and they deserve the attention, the fans)! I also ended up performing two Bangtan dances this year: Boy In Luv and Danger! I have to say, it was an amazing experience, an amazing year.

Proud to say that I'm an ARMY.