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Geeking at work  

By Faith Yuen Wei Ragasa Published Oct 14, 2021 10:00 am Updated Oct 13, 2021 9:57 pm

There’s just something different, in a good way, about the rush of excitement when you’re fangirling.

As a bookworm who devours young adult fiction novels and would wake up way before sunrise to line up to see an author in a book signing event, I know that adrenaline. It’s something you can’t quite find anywhere else except from where you are at that moment. 

It’s that same tingling feeling when you watch your “bias” for a few seconds on screen in that new music video you waited to premiere that day. It’s the feeling of knowing all the lyrics to Hamilton by heart and belting out with Eliza as she sings Burn. It’s weirdly fun and exhilarating. 

Whether it’s books, movies, video games, musicals, K-pop or merch collections, finding something you’re passionate about and having an avenue to discover that passion is special.

This is the case for PhilSTAR L!fe’s certified geeks. Being writers for a lifestyle website, these journalists have a place to geek about their favorites and write about them to share to the world. 

Hallyu

PhilSTAR L!fe’s content producer Hannah Mallorca has been passionate about Korean pop culture since her teenage years. She considers herself a hardcore fan—she collects her favorite groups’ merchandise, binge-watches her favorite K-dramas, and streams K-pop songs 24/7.

Fans are quick to gobble up K-pop merch such as this BTS Tiny Tan doll from McDonald's

She never thought this hobby would extend to her career as she now publishes feature articles on K-pop groups and K-dramas along with other pop culture trends. 

“I’m very glad that I get to do it in PhilSTAR L!fe. A lot of times, my job feels like returning to my younger self—but as someone who’s more mature,” Hannah shared in an email interview.

Working as L!fe’s resident K-pop/K-drama writer, Hannah found a place where she could meet other fangirls or fanboys who are like her. She shared how her job helps her discover the latest trend in the K-ent industry as it now moves at an insanely fast pace compared to when she first became a fan.

“I do my best to discover different types of K-pop songs and K-dramas as much as I can. I want to have an open mind with everything about these niches to reach out to different types of people. This makes me discover new gems as well,” she said. 

Even though Hannah doesn’t collect and fangirl as much as before, she continues to “stan” the K-pop industry by listening to different genres and watching K-dramas in her free time. 

“I don’t stream or collect merchandise as much as before, but I try to show my love for it through my job and making fans happy.”

Movies and tech

Ayie Licsi, on the other hand, has been a geek for movies her whole life. PhilSTAR L!fe’s content producer, however, only identified herself as a geek and techie during a writing job for a tech and lifestyle magazine. 

Ayie said that writing for L!fe has made her more inquisitive about the things she is passionate about. Writing about the things she geeks out about helped her learn to question why things are the way they are. 

 PhilSTAR L!fe's Ayie Licsi poses with ‘storm troopers’.

“I’m a big geek for tech, movies and TV series (coming of age ones, in particular), and queer culture. Days watching video essays, unboxing videos, and explainers on YouTube,” Ayie shared. 

“My passion and enthusiasm for these things mainly manifest through my writing.”

The feature writer also said she is a big fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Game of Thrones, Glee, Euphoria, One Day at a Time, Wes Anderson’s movies, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musicals and the Star Wars sequels. Besides movies, Ayie also grew up reading fiction novels. Her love for this was what led her to the career she has today. 

“I grew up reading Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and John Green’s books and wanted to become a writer because of them,” she said. 

Creating a safe space

For L!fe’s Geeky section editor Dandi Galvez, discussing things you geek about leads to enlightenment and a better appreciation of the artist’s work. Just like Ayie, Dandi is a fanboy in his own way. 

The news editor shared that he has at least a thousand movies in his DVD/ Blu-ray original collection which is stored in the shelves and bins of his library. He also collects film and video game-related items ranging from t-shirts to posters and other types of merchandise.

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A post shared by Dandi Galvez (@dandigalvez)

As the head of a section where writers are free to express their hobbies, Dandi said that conversations on the things you are passionate about help people expand their knowledge. 

“I would want my writers to have the same mindset and passion, to be able to talk freely to each other and to myself about what they think about certain topics,” he said. 

On Geeky’s social media sites, Dandi said the team creates a safe space for conversations online by making sure everyone is free to express and give their opinion.

 “The casual viewer’s thoughts are just as valid as the snootiest film critic. If you like playing games on your mobile phone and consider yourself a ‘gamer,’ then you are—no need to up the difficulty level on the console game or join an esports league. Everything done with passion is for everyone,” he said. 

Philstar L!fe's Geeky believes in giving a safe space for enthusiasts like gamers.

Though each of these journalists has different things they geek about, they are all similar when it comes to being passionate about them. Writing and publishing stories on movies, TV shows, video games, and the latest pop culture trend in PhilSTAR L!fe has helped them show that there are definitely a lot of benefits to being a geek.