Bronies: They actually exist.

So on my way to the library today, to write a blog post, you know what I saw? I passed another student sitting working on his laptop with a My Little Pony screen saver. I probably paused a moment before moving on and thinking “I just saw a brony.”

For those of you who haven’t heard about bronies, they are adult male fans of the popular children’s show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Basically it’s about ponies who are friends who teach values about friendship. So, as I’m sure you can imagine, I  was very surprised to say the least. Luckily not shocked enough to stop and gape and cause some sort of scene, but still. This has probably been my first known brony encounter, and while I am sure there may be more, it’s always such a surprise when confronted with something that I wouldn’t expect out of anyone I know, or may meet. I thought this was simply outrageous because, like most things you might see on the internet, it’s something that you wouldn’t take seriously. I didn’t expect to ever see one.

I think the phenomenon of bronies are actually pretty interesting, if not a little funny, since one would not normally expect full-grown men to watch a children’s show, nevermind one that is more targeted to a female audience, but nonetheless I think it’s very neat. I like that bronies aren’t afraid to admit it their love for the show, when, let’s face it, when we were all younger, this might have been the kind of thing you might get made fun of for liking. Sad as that is, it is reality, which is why seeing a brony makes me proud of them in a way, for being so honest about what they like or think is cool as an individual and to just be themselves, because I think we genuinely don’t get to see enough of that these days.

We don’t get the treat of seeing real representations of most people because so many people are afraid to stand out in a crowd, and I think people who can successful do that are really great and a good example for anyone to look up to. But even if bronies are becoming a trend, I still think it requires a certain level of confidence, so congrats! Keep on owning it.