In journalism, we have a warm-up every day called “What’s in the news?” At the very beginning of my junior year, I chose to talk about an article about the K-pop sensation BTS. That choice would soon change my life. A few classes later, I saw another article about BTS and thought it would be silly to do another article about them for the warm-up. A few classes went by, and I continued to do BTS articles until October 11, 2021. 

That day I saw an article about BTS that intrigued me. The headline said something about how one of the band members, V, had a song out that was doing well on the charts without any promotion. I wanted to see what was so great about that song, so I listened to it that night. As the song “Sweet Night” lulled into my ears, I fought back the urge to cry. I loved it, and that shocked me. 

I had previously tried to give BTS a chance in middle school for my friend who was constantly talking about them. I just couldn’t get into them at the time. Junior year though, was a completely different story. 

So I listened to more BTS songs the next two days of that week, and on October 13, 2021, I officially declared myself a fan. My journalism class witnessed me go on this whole journey. Every day for “What’s in the news?” I caught them up on what had happened with BTS, made them watch music videos and stage performances of them, and I even gave a presentation of them at the end of the year. Obsessed? Yes. Happy? Abundantly. 

Here’s another thing: junior year is right after sophomore year (duh), and sophomore year was the year of virtual school. I didn’t do well in virtual school; I’m not built to learn that way. Mentally, going into junior year was grueling because of how bad sophomore year went. My depression was bad and my anxiety was high. 

Yet, I found something to pull me out of my head. BTS’s music was inspiring and made me feel seen. They write a lot about the struggles of being young and going through difficult changes and times in life. I was able to relate to them in a way that seemed so bizarre. Seven men in South Korea who dance and sing? Somehow, though, I was able to. So I just went with it. 

I listened to them on repeat, learned their names, and watched tons of videos of them. I talked about them all the time. So much so that I made a friend (Hi, Anna Grace). We grew closer, sharing a love for K-pop. This new friend sparked a joy in me I had not had in a long time. We would hang out all the time and watch music videos and interviews. 

This new friend eventually introduced me to a whole new side of music as well as some of my closest friends. Friends who have changed my life for the better. All of this was possible because of journalism and BTS.