This was one of the most unexpected things to happen in my life. I fell in love with a show called Supernatural. I remember some friends telling me about it years ago, but I hadn’t been interested at the time. I’m very afraid of paranormal stuff. If I ever saw something paranormal, I would probably get so scared that I would end up having a heart attack. I don’t watch or read horror stuff, unless it is a comedy or more along the lines of Scooby Doo. The Supernatural novels are also an exception.
Then one day, I was scrolling through some fanfictions and opened up a Supernatural one. The fanfic was quickly forgotten because I became intrigued about the idea of two brothers who fight monsters have a best friend who is an angel. I looked up clips from the show, and for someone who hates horror, I was very interested in the show.
I wanted to watch the show and looked if it was on television. I found that it was on TNT and watched it there. Season 11 was airing at that time, so I taped those to watch when I caught up. I didn’t realize how much I would like the show. The relationship between the brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, and the storyline really drew me in. I remember waking up every day and thinking, “I get to watch the continuing adventures of the Winchester brothers.” Although certain episodes would make me have trouble sleeping at night, I still thoroughly enjoyed the show.
And it wasn’t just the show that I watched. I began searching for videos of the main actors, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles as well as a few of the other actors from the show. This was the first time I was so invested not only in a show but also in the real-life people from a show. I also found out about Jared’s campaign, Always Keep Fighting. The purpose is to help raise awareness of mental illness and donations are made to multiple charities. He has been very open about his own struggles with anxiety and depression.
As I began to tumble down into health anxiety and another round of depression, Supernatural was there for me. Jared’s campaign saved me from going too far. I know he would tell me that I picked myself up, but I don’t know what I would have done without the inspiring message of “always keep fighting.”
I never expected that Supernatural would have such a big impact on my life. It was a huge inspiration for writing “Reawakened Flames.” Once I had the idea of a series with main characters with mental illness or some other struggle, I knew that I needed to write it. Not only for people to enjoy or be inspired by but also maybe it would even save a life like the little horror show that I thought I would never watch did.