Your heart begins to swell. You can’t get enough. You’re ready to blow off everything to find out more about him, see him again, hear his voice. Are you ready to fall in love?
 Nope.
 You’re ready to fangirl.
 Whether the initial attraction happened while seeing a particularly great actor in a movie, listening to a catchy new song on the radio or watching that basketball player sink an especially difficult basket, the object of your affection can be found anywhere. Now that you have your sights set on him or her, make sure to read these six steps to ensure you’re fangirling to the best of your abilities.
 
1. Research.
At this point, your mind should be a blank canvas ready to absorb as much info as possible while you begin reading the entire Wikipedia page, IMDBing, Googling and searching YouTube incessantly. Where is she from? How did he get started acting/singing/dunking baskets? Does she have any pets? Favorite color? Allergies? BABY PICTURES, WHERE ARE YOU ALREADY?
 
2. Immerse.
You know you’re falling into a one-of-a-kind fangirl love, so do yourself a favor and surround yourself with every masterpiece he or she has ever been involved with. Fangirling a musician? Listen to every song on every album immediately. Has a painter captured your eye? Check out every piece of artwork published. But don’t stop there. Once every lyric is imprinted on your heart and each brush stroke is filling up the canvas in your dreams, attend every concert and exhibit you are physically capable of being at.
 
3. Recruit.
By now you should be ready to make your discovery known to absolutely everyone you come into contact with. “Have you heard about that author who wrote that book? Yes, that’s the one! Did you know she was born in Bangladesh? Have you read this series, yet? Look at this picture of her grandmother; how cute is she? Check out these other 17 books! She’s
allergic to peanut butter, you know.”
 
4. Spend.
Isn’t it nice to know that a little of your money will go into the pocket of the world’s greatest baseball team? It’s time for merch, merch and more merch. Fill up your room with T-shirts, posters, lamps, autographed cards and jerseys galore. You can never have enough merchandise. Your friends should not even have to think about what to buy for your birthday. This also helps alert any strangers to your fangirl lifestyle.
 
5. Persevere.
You are officially the pinnacle of all that is fangirl. You should be the guru anyone can approach to find out all information concerning whoever you’ve sworn allegiance to. If they need to know when the next album comes out or when that actor’s movie premieres, you MUST know the answer. Any mention of this person, group or organization should immediately be tied to your existence as far as anyone who knows you is concerned. And if any misfortune or bad press befalls your idol, do not forget that he or she is and will never be at fault for absolutely anything. If the person you’re devoted to got caught snorting cocaine in a speeding convertible while mooning authorities, HE HAD A GOOD REASON. Your fangirling must endure.
 
6. Repeat.