I never expected this turn of events, but here we are, I’m a proud CARAT. Honestly, if someone had told my past self that I’d be this emotionally invested in a K-pop group, I would’ve smirked, sipped my water (non-coffee drinker here), and walked away. I used to be the kind of person who gave K-pop a skeptical side-eye. Yet somehow, December 2021 hit different.
Credit where it’s due: my sister is the OG CARAT in the family. She’s been repping Seventeen since 2015--- playing their tracks on loop, obsessing over choreography, crying during award shows. Me? I just coexisted with the noise. It was background music to my life... until one day, it wasn't.
It happened so casually. She played “2 Minus 1” and “Rock with You,” and something clicked. Like a flicked switch. Suddenly, it wasn’t just a catchy beat, it meant something. ess! And just like that, I found myself crossing a line I swore I’d never toe. Curiosity turned into obsession, and before I knew it, I had quietly packed my bags and moved into the diamond life.
But it didn’t stop at the songs. The more I heard their music echoing through the walls of our home, the more I began to pay attention. Really pay attention. Watching their pre-debut grind in SEVENTEEN Project Debut Big Plan and 17TV? It hit different. These boys were dreamers who fought tooth and nail to get where they are. Every lyric, every step, every chaotic laugh, it all felt genuine.
And somewhere in between all those playlists and tear-stained live clips, I fell for them. Hard. No turning back kind of hard.
Truth is, Seventeen found me at a weird point in my life, one of those messy chapters you don’t talk about unless someone pries. Quarter-life crisis, internal chaos, daily existential commentary, you know the drill. But their music? It didn’t just soundtrack those moments. It carried me through them. There’s something about the way they pour life into every performance that makes you feel like maybe, just maybe, you’re not as alone as you think.
Now I’m here, streaming tracks like clockwork, memorizing every beat drop, collecting merch (mostly gifts from fellow CARATs with big hearts), and catching every Going Seventeen episode like it’s a religious ritual. I’ve found joy in things I didn’t know I needed. The excitement of a comeback countdown, the WeVerse chaos, the pride when they win something they’ve worked hard for, it’s not just music, it’s belonging.
Fangirling, I’ve learned, isn’t just about screaming over pretty faces or memorizing names. It’s about connection. It’s about healing. It’s about rediscovering joy in a world that sometimes feels too much.
Seventeen become a constant. One of the few lights that stayed on when everything else went dim.
So here I am, once a K-pop cynic, now a full-blown emotional CARAT. And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way.