November 2025 "Honoring Your Childhood Interests" by Julie Calvert

      This November 14th marks my 8th year of first electively listening to Gorillaz’s hit single, “Clint Eastwood.” An odd thing to recall so clearly, I know. I had always heard Gorillaz’ music on the radio; I grew up with Blur, Damon Albarn’s other band, but one day, my curiosity was piqued–I asked my mom, “What’s that song that goes, “ ‘I ain’t happy, I’m feeling glad, I got sunshine in a bag…’ ” and then I promptly opened Spotify on my Amazon Kindle, and found the track, and fell in love. From there, it was “Feel Good Inc.,” “19-2000 - Soulchild Remix,” “On Melancholy Hill,” and so on and so forth. Their music and the characters of the virtual band enticed me; the music video for “DARE” with Noodle dancing with Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays and Black Grape–the humorous lore of the bassist, Murdoc, running over the soon-to-be frontman, 2-D, were all just reasons to dive deeper and deeper into the sea of Gorillaz.

     Gorillaz were also my first experience in an online space–fandom. For better or worse (often worse), it was an experience that shaped me into who I am today. I met my best friend of 8 years, and the experience led me from one interest to the next. Eventually, after almost two years of running a fan page, I needed out. Over the course of the years, I became critical of my time in that fandom, as well as my enjoyment of the band. I stopped listening to their new music, or keeping up with the lore, or even what Damon Albarn was up to in his other various projects.

     But I am older now, and wiser than I was 15 minutes ago, and 7th-grade me had spectacular taste. In fact, I think all my childhood interests were of phenomenal taste–from The Beatles to Homestuck, I really knew what was worth my time.

     I think we underestimate our childhood interests; we forget what we loved, and what shaped us, and we move on too fast. It is not a sign of juvenile behavior to find enjoyment in what you once loved, for there is a certain grand wisdom in children, and in our own formidable years. There is an innocent way of enjoying the topics—with little to no regard for cringe culture. My outfit on my first day of 6th grade was “Legend of Zelda” themed, head to toe. The drip and passion were insane. As adults, we lose this passion in the swell of responsibility and adulthood… I believe some of that is natural; however, I feel we should always try to save a little time in our lives to look back at our childhood selves and appreciate what we did that made us into who we are today.

    Is that cheesy? Perhaps. But I feel it is better than the self-cynical, holier-than-thou alternative many of us take upon ourselves when reflecting on our formative years.