Obsession

Obsession is the name of a fragrance from Calvin Klein way back in 1985/1986 that gets asked about on Jeopardy occasionally; Obsession is also the name of a hit 2026 horror movie that has the internet buzzing about how scary it is, a true psychological nightmare. Between that and "Back Rooms" by 20-year-old director Kane Parsons, and the creepypasta/horror genre is really catching on with American audiences, not that I will be watching. I'm a strictly no-horror film watcher, but I'll read the synopsis. If I want to watch something horrifying, I'll go watch clues 19-25 of my one Jeopardy game.....but Obsession even has a good moral lesson attached to it, which is.....be careful what you wish for! In my younger years I often yearned for so-and-so girl to like me back when she was the target of my affections, I wasn't exactly obsessed with it, but I do understand the impulse to do almost anything to get that person to like me back. I do think part of the reason I get obsessed with pursuits like fantasy baseball, dodgeball, Jeopardy.....is that I, like many nerdy men out there (not to stereotype but I do feel like this is part of why men do what they do) like to compete especially in things that have standings, that can gauge how well you do, endeavors that have ways of tracking your personal progress, but more importantly......how well you're doing versus others. I've never gotten a DNA test but I may be a descendant of Genghis Khan; regardless of whether I am or not, someone in my lineage somewhere probably had to conquer other people, had to fight against others to win something. That probably runs through my blood, the need, the obsession, to fight against others, even if in today's society others aren't looking to fight. My upbringing probably contributed to that feeling, I've always been neglected, always been second fiddle, never popular or gotten too much attention, that I've constantly been fighting for attention, wanting to prove myelf. It's like an obsession to need to do well, to always be thinking about it and never letting it go. Sometimes that can be a healthy obsession and that's branded as "competitive fire" when a pro athlete does it and spends 12 hours in the gym working and getting better, but when it's a nerdy guy like me obsessing about a game show or some other endeavor it's derided as lacking direction and "needs to make better use of one's time." This might actually be a useful psychological study nowadays for young men who constantly feel rejected (and thus causing some destruction in society). The best-looking people, most popular get 95% of the attention, which is great for them but not everybody can be those best-looking people and most popular, and young men who like me have this urge to compete and fight for something and have a goal, get attention, prove oneself....lack the ability to do that in today's world and have to express themselves through different outlets, whether it be video games, sports, etc.....but sometimes it gets violent or destructive.