Click it. If you have soshified. :)

READ BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT JUST A FAN BUT A REAL SONE

I cried because of this.. and I'm not even a crybaby.

To all Sones like me.. I'm really glad that I've become one of you. :)

LET'S ALL LOVE THE GIRLS FOREVER 

if you don't have Soshified Acc. scroll down

if you have soshified, please visit her site. It's much better if  we do to that. it'll give more appreciation to the owner of the article. Plus she also have written articles about each of the girls. really. I can't even describe my feels. 

THIS IS WORK OF AURATUS FROM SOSHIFIED.COM

THIS IS NOT MINE.

I'M BLOGGING IT HERE SIMPLY TO SHARE IT TO ALL SONES OUT THERE WHO UNFOTUNATELY DON'T HAVE SOSHIFIED ACCOUNT

Forever SONE

Are you a new fan? An old fan? One who's known about the girls for a while, but is just now starting to wonder what the fuss is about?

Perhaps you've seen some bother about the word, SONE. What is it? Or perhaps you think you already know? Let's look at it, defining some things along the way. Understanding can be rewarding, and hopefully you'll learn something of them or yourself in the process.

Technically, a SONE (pronounced So-Won) is a member of their official Korean fan club. But that's a bit dis-satisfying if you're international to them. Here, on Soshified, the term is defined differently by the majority of members.

SONE. What does the word mean to you? Fan? I'm a fan. I'm a SONE. Yet these two statements are not the same thing. To be specific, a SONE is a fan, a fan is not necessarily a SONE. There is an important distinction here and it parallels the path the girls are on, where they started as individuals, selected out of the crowd of youngsters SMe scouted and trained and watched grow into potential. Only the right ones were picked, girls who knew each other somewhat, maybe talked of debuting, but without knowing for sure. But then these nine were selected and grouped together, a group in name only. Where they went from there, we have had the pleasure of seeing. Where once they were nine girls who dreamed alone, they moved to sharing a dream, and then living it together on stage.

As fans, let us agree that we are in a relationship with the nine. It might be simple fascination or some admixture of adoration and admiration, or perhaps even love on our part... but from them, to us, it is love. A distant variety, assuredly, but they do love us. We provide them amusement, support, all sorts of gifts, from the inane to the insane, attention (too much, sometimes) and some frustration, uncle-like concern or childish immaturity, we give and give and they do love us in return. To put it another way, what they do, in large part, they do for us. They seek our approval, they need our support and they are so thankful to have us.

Holding hands, they bow to us, thanking us, showing the respect they have for us. When they've already given us so much of themselves, still, they do this. Some of this is cultural, but it's also heartfelt. When they're up on stage, we make it magical for them. Oh, girls. It is a relationship.

I've written elsewhere about them, their journey as individuals and as a group. It is an on-going journey, from their adolescence spent in long and varied training, to their debut and beyond. From unrecognized rookies to the present day superstars of Asia, we've seen them take every step. Together.

They are each beautiful and beautifully talented. They are each amusing and y and warm-hearted. They are each hard working and polite and respectful and so, so adorable. Yes, to all this. But if this was all they were, they would not be SNSD. Alone.

Individually, they appeal with individual talents. Acting, singing, dance, comedy, MC, radio host, variety show personality, they can do all this, but who they are is best seen when they are together. Togetherness is their hallmark. This is what makes them SNSD. Each of them could be successful alone, but at their heart, what allows them to talk to the widest audience, with the widest appeal of any talent in Asia is as SNSD, the group.

Can we agree on this?

Perhaps at some point in the future, after SNSD has broken up, with some of the members retired, perhaps married, others pursuing careers out of the public eye or in public service, some of them might become solo artists. But right here, right now, they are riding a wave at peak intensity, the high points of their careers, reaching millions of people, new fans, new audiences, new venues and markets at a breathtaking rate. A year ago, it was the rare Korean who didn't know SNSD. Now? Next year? The mind. It boggles.

Nine women who are doing remarkable things with their young lives. Taeyeon. Jessica. Sunny. Tiffany. Hyoyeon. Yuri. Sooyoung. Yoona. Seohyun. Journeying together into uncharted waters, representatives, not just of their industry but really as ambassadors for their country, for their generation. Where will their journey end? Time will show us, but I cannot see a time when I won't be their fan. A SONE.

Back to this thorny subject, this simple four letter word. In my mind, a SONE is someone who loves each of the girls, is a fan of each of the girls and of them together as a group. I'm a SONE. I think SONE is more a state of being, the end result of the journey you might be on. How do you know when you get there? You'll know. At that point, you'll love each of them, whichever your eyes are seeing, whichever your ears are hearing.

How did you first begin to like them? Was it as a whole? The entire group? Is that even possible? Or were you like most people and did you start off liking one or two of them? Then, perhaps, you watched their performances and variety show appearances and recognized your favorite in different situations? Gradually you learned her quirks and mannerisms, the way she spoke and reacted, the way she laughed and showed her unique charms. Charms, in your eyes, superior to the others. She was your favorite. But then something curious might have happened. From her, you might have moved onto the others, finding the interrelationships, the roommate arrangements, the pairings more than interesting.

And then finally, perhaps, you started to notice there was something... different about them. Unusual. Unencountered in our everyday humdrum lives. Something you hadn't ever seen in western media. There was something else about them. Among them. Something that drew you in, that made these women, who likely spoke a language you didn't understand, who lived lives you couldn't understand, relatable and human. Suddenly their laughs made you laugh, their warmth and teasing of each other comforted you, their tears hurt you, and you felt the joy of their hugs.

Like concentric rings with them at the center, they are surrounded by people, family, co-workers, managers and support staff, who love and assist them, and outside of that they have us. We who really do not know them, we who cannot even understand them without help from SoshiSubs. Despite all that, we find ourselves drawn in. What is attracting us?

Their bond.

Their bond to each other. When did you finally notice it? The way each of them is a constant supporter of the rest. Like best friends, only instead of one best friend, they have eight. How did it happen? Necessity and grace. Elegance and wisdom. They live together, they work together, they sleep in the same rooms and are constant companions when not working, only separating when they go off to see their families and friends on the rare days off. Add in the pressures of their lives, the forced separation from reality, the expectations they have and the expectations that are put upon them. These things they share can only be understood by them, the nine. They've said no one else can truly understand their lives. Not their families, not the managers, not their fans, not other idols. Only the nine of them.

Yet from this bond, this feeling of belonging, do they draw on us. It calls to us. We feel as if we too belong in their lives. It makes no logical sense and someone cynical might point out that beauty simply attracts, that attraction and imagination might lead to fantasy and delusion... which ignores the feeling, the community they engender. Millions know this. But only SONEs know why.

I'm a fan. I'm a SONE. Different statements.

A fan might say,

- I'm a fan of their airport fashion, but their concert costumes are too ualized and I think SM is exploiting them and they could do better and they should never grow up or change. I like them just the way they are. SM is forcing them to do this! SM is evil! Give them back their lollipops!

- I'm a fan of their music, but I think their live performance on the J-Pop shows sound over-processed and OMG, why did they have to use autotune? Anyway, I think they're lip-sycning on HEYx3 because the Youtube video doesn't match their lips.

- I'm only a fan of Taeyeon. When I take pictures of her, I blur out the rest of the girls because they aren't as talented, and I think Taeyeon should go solo. She's the best. The other girls are holding her back. Also she might be making me gay. But that's okay.

- I think Yoona should stick to acting. She can't sing or dance. She's just a pretty face. Why is she in the center anyway? Why is she even in SNSD? I think Jessica would be better. Jessica is the best!

A SONE simply says, I'm a SONE.

Perhaps it's that the person expressing their fandom is immature or just starting on their journey of learning how SNSD succeeds and how SNSD appeals to so many. There is hope there for growth and realization, there is hope there that the fan will become a SONE. Certainly the girls appreciate all their fans. But I'm going to be small and say they appreciate SONEs the most.

A SONE accepts. A SONE tries to understand. A SONE cheers and supports without stint. A SONE loves each of them wholeheartedly because a SONE knows of the love they have for each other. Imagine someone professing love for you but hate for your best friend...

Certainly, it is human nature to think small, to rank and choose the best, but the entire concept of a group, of any idol group, is to share success and misery. In this manner, successes are magnified and troubles lessened. It is a miserable existence most of the time, with every minute of their lives planned out for months ahead. Schedules so tightly packed that illness can't be excused, running to the point of collapse with fainting not uncommon. They sacrifice normality and time with family and in so many ways, they gave up their childhoods for this dream. But when one has others striving alongside her, depending upon her, she tries harder and she won't quit trying. She goes beyond personal motivation and limits so she doesn't let her sisters down.

When Sunny returned to the concert after having received an IV at the hospital, she apologized. What was she feeling? Why was she crying? No matter that her body had been pushed too hard, that she couldn't have continued, still she felt horrible for having failed her sisters. The very first thing they did was reassure her. Yuri's eternal hug was one of love, of comfort, never mind the thousands of fans watching something so personal and genuine. Yuri wasn't an idol then and there. She was a sister hurting for Sunny's hurt. As they all hurt.

And any fan who saw them felt it. It was a moment when we saw their bonds clearly delineated. It was a moment that assured any SONE that what we believe is right, that each of them is worth all our support.

This is the lesson we can learn from them. Most of us have nothing in common with these nine girls except for our humanity. Our human existence. We are born alone and we leave alone, but we don't have to exist alone. By extension, by their love for each other and for us, we are recalled to an echo of innocence, of trust and simple comfort. If we're open to it. If we can move past selfishness and pettiness and if we can see them clearly, they show us how it's done.

So which are you? Which do you choose to be? Fan or SONE?

WORK OF AURATUS  
check her stories out on SOSHIFIED :)

Don't even dare to share this without crediting the real author. Respect guys. That's the least we can do for her.