Understanding the NKOTB Journey

Let go of any preconceived notions because I am about to take you on a journey like no other. This is not some silly schoolgirl boy band loving mindless drone. If that is what you believe, you have to go deeper, look beyond the surface. The real purpose of our existence cannot be seen with the naked eye. You must feel it, but in order to do that, you must open your heart and your mind. This is our journey.

For the majority of us, it started in 1988. The stories range from a 4-year old listening to her mothers tapes to a teenager hearing "Please Don't Go, Girl" on the radio. The stories may vary but the feeling is the same. A deep love and devotion to 5 bad brothers from the Beantown land also known as New Kids on the Block.

Many outside the circle when they think NKOTB they remember their sister, friend, cousin, schoolmates screaming at the very mention of Donnie, Danny, Jordan, Jon, or Joe. Perhaps they remember groups of girls, each calling dibs on one of the guys, no two friends can have the same guy. If they did, one always won out and the other was silenced and had to love her man in secret and claim to not have a favorite ("I love them all the same" she may say.) Today, those who favor the same guy come together as friends. Those outside the circle may laugh at the idea of NKOTB, remembering all the old rumors and jokes. Some reveal themselves to have been closet fans all along. But what they won't remember is the joy they brought all us fans. They won't remember because they didn't experience it the way we did.

Today, that joy has returned. I hear from people that they just don't like that kind of music and I can respect that but it goes beyond the music. It goes beyond the screaming schoolgirls, the favorite guy, the paraphernalia. It's about the journey that started in 1988 and reconvened in 2008 but will continue for a lifetime. To be fair, many of us didn't even know we were entering into a journey when we became NKOTB fans. This did not become apparent until we matured and had the wisdom to understand.

For many of us, the feelings were always there, they never left. Some of us tried to resist it and lost as we opened ourselves up to the possibilities. It may almost sound like I am talking about a cult, but I assure you I am in my right mind as are the majority of my sisters (please ignore the anomalies, every group has them). It's hard to explain a feeling; you just have to experience it.

When they sing, we let ourselves go. There is a freedom and joy. It's not all about the music but the music is important because that’s when we allow our souls to sour. We connect through the music; connecting with our brothers and sisters.

So who are these fans anyway? We span the spectrum. One thing I know is they are a lot of amazing people. We keep in touch via social media channels. Many of us met on the NKOTB forum and continued our relationship via other means, most notably Twitter. Some I met on Twitter and still others at concerts and events.

One of my twitter friends, Erin (@ErinAKAPink) had this to say regarding how you can tell a lot about a fan by her favorite member.

Donnie girls--- we are the loud ones, the tough ones, the outgoing ones, the funny... We tell it like it is and expect the same in return...

Jordan girls--- ya'll are the dreamers, the soulful ones, the sly ones...

Jon girls... ya'll are the quite ones that sneak up on us and come out of your shells after you have evaluated the situation...

Joe girls... ya'll are the funny ones... want to be center stage-- loyal beyond any imagination-- once a Joe girl, you never waffle... LOL

Danny girls-- ya'll are the sexy ones... out for a good time... consequences be damned, ya'll gonna get it!!

We all pretty much agree she is spot on. We differ in personalities as well as in lifestyles and careers, but one thing we all have in common is our love and devotion. Wait, I said that already. Well, it's worth repeating, our love and devotion.

We are the hardcore fans. We are the ones who buy up all the concert tickets, VIP packages, and special events that our budget will allow. We crash servers with our demand. We follow our guys on Twitter through their many adventures. We travel the country, the world to see them perform. We are everywhere and you just don't know it yet. (Many more to be revealed as we uncover them and give them an orientation.) We stalk buses; we find them in Waffles houses, gyms, hotels, casinos all with the guys’ encouragement. We follow Twitter instructions before we know why; we just do because we trust. We are the hard to the core fans and we cannot be brought down. Not by a monsoon, snow storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, bad traffic, delayed flights. We will always prevail. You mess with one of us, you mess with us all. The NK Army is too strong. Believe many things but don't ever underestimate our power.

They are the hardcore performers as they party with us after a concert, impromptu performances whether on Lido deck on a cruise or atop a counter at a Waffle House. They give us so much free facetime, pay out their own pockets for fans to travel to see them perform. They talk to us on twitter, sending us personal messages or take a phone from a fan to speak to another fan that could not be present. They see their fans standing outside rehearsals and invite them to watch. They stop to chat on their personal time, taking pictures and giving hugs. Their energy never wavers as when it comes time to perform on stage they give it their all rivaling those half their age.

Still some say they don't understand us. Stop trying to figure it out with your mind and feel it with your heart. Feel our joy, see the smile on our face and you will see this is for real. For many of us, it has been a life changing and/or saving time facilitating major transitions in our lives. This reunion has made us better and the people in our lives as well as society will benefit. We are in a recession yet few of us are suffering. Some were sad, and now are inspiring others to celebrate life. Some were in unhealthy situations, and found the strength to get out. Some were in a slump, and found new energy to overcome obstacles. (Never mind some had savings and now have none. shhhhh! We're helping the recession.)

We learned to live life and our 5 fine guys reminded us of that fact. If it's not Donnie with his words of wisdom, its Danny with his inspiration to live healthy, or Jordan's games to keep us feeling light spirited, Jon's real talk to make us think or debate him, and of course, Joe's witty commentary. They all show us their love and appreciation by interacting with us, celebrating with us and acknowledging us. None of this would be possible without us, they say, but they brought us together. They don't even realize how much of an impact they have had. I'm not sure I can even fit it into a blog post; I may have to let my sisters talk for themselves. This is much larger than anyone would have imagined.

For those who want to understand, understand this: You must first be open to the changes that will occur. You must be ready to acknowledge not everything must make logical sense. You cannot put it under a microscope and analyze it. You just have to let your guard down and trust. Let yourself go. You have 5 brothers and a million sisters waiting to catch you.

For everyone else, positivity is not about being soft, it’s about being smart. You sucka!

Peace.

We out.