Life is never what we expect!

This one will be rather lengthy, so grab a beer, a smoothie, a cup of coffee or the fave beverage of your choice, and make yourself comfy. So what set me down the path today? Ya, it was BTS again…

After watching their PTD, live streaming performance from LA, last night, it left me as well as many others with a variety of mixed emotions from ecstatic bliss to the blues, knowing that their four-day concert circuit was all too short. The seven will be heading back to South Korea and a ten-day self-quarantine within their own county due to the Omega strain of the COVID virus. 

Their emotions as well as ours were running high Thursday evening, as Jin, Jimin, Tae, JHope, JK, Joon, and Suga sang and danced for almost three hours. This visit to LA was the first time they performed for ARMY in the flesh since fall 2019, and from their tears and smiles you could tell they were happy to be back, doing what they do best. 

They’ve stated how this unplanned hiatus threw them into depression, even though they remained active writing and producing music/videos, making Run BTS episodes, collaborating with other musicians, working out and practicing, and pursuing their own interests, yet the absence from the live stage still took its toll. Add to this the unknown outcome of their upcoming enlistment, and you’ll understand their recent state of mind. Thankfully their return to the stage dissuaded all their fears. Would ARMY still be waiting for them? Could they still perform at a top-notch level?  Could they still fill the “house” for four evenings? However, knowing that a world-wide tour was not in their near future, still nervously lingered in their minds. 

Today, I remain more optimistic than most ARMY this evening because I had no expectations that they’d announce an immediate upcoming tour. Knowing what I know about SK, and the state of the rest of the world (COVID) I wasn’t expecting it. Therefore, after walking away with a tear in my eye last night, I am only sad because I simply love seeing them. Attending a BTS concert is always filled with tears. As my granddaughter stated at Soldier Field in October 2019, “I am going to cry during the first song…”. Tears and smiles are always in abundance. 

I guess it’s just the way I look at the world – with practical yet optimistic eyes. I always tell people that I’m a realistic optimist, therefore I don’t experience the crashes that many encounter. My mother was constantly disappointed in life because she had extreme expectations and therefore none of them ever came to fruition. I saw too much of that in my life. 

While talking to some of my ARMY friends this morning, they remain upset/saddened about the lack of performances and worried about the frame of mind of the individuals in BTS. But, I’m here today to remind everyone that the world has experienced these kind of crises many times during our human history – pandemics and world wars and the Great Depression. These affected the world and wiped-out millions and millions of people, destroyed economies and changed the world forever. Hardly a soul was left unaffected. 

Of course, every generation hopes that they will remain unscathed by events out of their control, but as history has shown us, there are more trials and tribulations than there are peaceful and tranquil times. The thing is, we all need to learn to live with whatever we are given. It’s all in our attitude. How do we handle it? How do we get through COVID? It has affected each one of us, some more harshly than others. And it certainly has affected BTS. But they will bounce back. They will live with what’s given to them. It might hurt and disappoint them, but they are strong, have great friends and family and a company that stands behind them 100 percent. They have been blessed by the universe and have more than most people ever will. 

While of course being ARMY we FOCUS on them, however, we must remember that some people have lost loved ones. Some have lost entire families. Lost their jobs, lost their will to live and don’t have as many options as many of us, including our beloved BTS. Right now, ARMY is hyper-focused on BTS and maybe therefore their perspective may be skewed. I don’t want to sound crass or cold, I adore BTS and this whole experience has made my good life even better. But it’s not the end of the world. It’s what we make of it. The guys are still young and will learn to swing with whatever life throws at them. They have so much to look forward to including finding the love(s) of their lives, having families, and discovering everything that life has to offer. And of course, they will always have their music. 

I’m eager to hear about their new project, and I’m certain BTS they are excited about it too. Life has so much to offer, we just need to know where to look for it. The gift of BTS and music will never die. 

And remember what Yoongi said recently on VLIVE, this week. “Think of the lyrics of the song ‘Telepathy’, and please wait.” We will Yoongi, we will. 

사랑해 행운을 빕니다, 방탄소년단
(I love you. Best of luck BTS!)