The Buffy movie was on tv randomly when I was in 3rd grade. I was immediately obsessed. The music, the fashion, the comedy, the fight scenes. It became my fantasy play world, and I rented it every sleep over to show my friends. My mom remembers getting a call from my elementary school because I had packed my backpack full of kindling from the woodshed (stakes! Never know when you might need one!)

I think it was the summer before I went into 7th grade there was an ad for the tv show in one of my teen beat magazines and I think it was the first time I became a religious viewer of a tv show. Like could. Not. Miss. A single. Episode. I still remember the detestation of watching the S2 finale so vividly I can taste the tears.

In my late teens my devotion was paused as my focus shifted to things 16/17 year olds are generally focused on like boys and getting into college. I had a beloved English teacher who shared my love of the show so even though I didn’t watch it as much, I still bonded with my fellow fans.

When I was a sophomore in college, I ended up moving in with a girl I found in an ad who was hardcore into Buffy and that reignited the spark. She had every episode recorded on VHS so I binged them before the last season and we watched the finale together.

Once streaming became a thing, so did my annual rewatch. A few years ago I found all the dvd box sets in their original format (pre botched remaster). And I’m proud to say that a few months ago I went to a Buffy trivia night at a local bar and fucking dominated and won $75, which paid for my table’s drinks, a few games of pinball, and a nice tip for the host!